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Stephen H. LaFranchi, Increasing Incidence of Congenital Hypothyroidism: Some Answers, More Questions, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Volume 96, Issue 8, 1 August 2011, Pages 2395–2397, https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2011-1850
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In 2007, Harris and Pass (1) reported that the incidence (birth prevalence) of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) detected by newborn screening programs in the United States had nearly doubled over the previous two decades, increasing from 1:3985 (in 1987) to 1:2273 (in 2002). In an analysis of data from their state of New York, Harris and Pass (1) found an even higher incidence, increasing from 1:3373 (in 1978) to 1:1415 (in 2005). The report of an apparent doubling was not limited to the United States. Newborn screening programs in Western Australia (1:5747 to 1:2825) (2), Italy (1:2654 to 1:1154) (3), the northern region of the United Kingdom (1:2702 to 1:1078) (4), and Greece (1:3384 to 1:1749) (5) also reported an increasing incidence of CH.
After these reports, questions naturally arose. Was this increasing incidence real, signaling an increase in the underlying etiology(ies) of CH? Or was the increasing incidence an artifact, explained by modifications of screening programs such as a change in test cutoffs? Furthermore, did the additional babies benefit from detection and early treatment?
