SCREENING FOR CONGENITAL HYPOTHYROIDISM IN TURKEY

A pilot study was performed to determine the incidence of congenital h ypothyroidism (CH) in Turkey and to build a model for nationwide scree ning. From December 1991 to December 1992, 30097 newborns were screene d for CH using a primary measurement of thyroid stimulating hormone in capillary blood on days 3-5 of life. Samples were obtained in collabo ration with the ongoing nationwide phenylketonuria screening programme . Eleven cases of primary CH were detected giving the incidence of 1:2 736. Recall rate was 2.3%. Replacement therapy with L-thyroxine was st arted after the confirmation of diagnosis. The median age at the initi ation of replacement therapy was 23 days (range 7-35 days). Conclusion The incidence of CH is notably higher in Turkey than reported in most other countries. Iodine deficiency and/or dyshormonogenesis might con tribute to this high incidence. This result emphasizes the necessity o f a nationwide screening programme.