TEHRAN – Annually 4,000 Iranian newborns are diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism, head of endocrinology and metabolic department of health ministry announced, Fars reported on Saturday.

Shahin Yarahmadi said that all newborns in Iran undergo newborn screening and those who are recognized with CH are introduced to medical centers to further treatments.

One third of newborns diagnosed with hypothyroidism are cured in short term however the rest should receive life-long treatments, she explained.

The delayed diagnosis lead to decrease in IQ of newborns, she explained.

“We have already 6000 diagnosis labs to test CH across Iran and fortunately even one newborn in Iran is not affected by delayed diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism, she said.

Newborn screening (NS) for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the major achievements in preventive medicine. Most neonates born with CH have normal appearance and no detectable physical signs. Hypothyroidism in the newborn period is almost always overlooked, and delayed diagnosis leads to the most severe outcome of CH, mental retardation, emphasizing the importance of NS.

Blood spot thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) or thyroxine (T4) or both can be used for CH screening. The latter is more sensitive but not cost-effective, so screening by TSH or T4 is used in different programs around the world.

SB/MQ/MG