The Incidence of Congenital Hypothyroidism in Areas Covered by Kerman and Jiroft Universities of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism is one of the most prevalent endocrine disorders. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in the Kerman Province, Iran. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted using existing documents in District Health Centers covered by Kerman and Jiroft Universities of Medical Sciences. According to the National protocol all neonates should be screened for TSH between days 3 to 5 after birth. Cases with TSH values of ≥ 5 mu/L are considered abnormal and will be referred for diagnosis and treatment. Results: In total 48553 neonates (including both Iranian and Afghani neonates) were born in areas covered by the two Medical Universities and 48277 were screened. 1689 cases (3.5%) were suspicious, and finally 166 cases, or 0.34% (CI95%: 0.29-0.40) were diagnosed as having congenital hypothyroidism. There was no relationship between the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism and sex or nationality (P > 0.05). But the prevalence was higher in the rural areas (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Although our results are compatible with findings of some local studies (i.e., Yazd and Kashan), it seems there is some discrepancy with the mean country level and also the rates of other countries. Further supervision on the program implementation in this province is warranted. Keywords: Prevalence, Neonate, Hypothyroidism, Congenita