f the many forms of thyroid disease in
children, hypothyroidism remains the
most common. Since the 1970s with the
advent of neonatal screening for thyroid
disease in most industrialized countries,
the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism
has increased from about 1 in 6700 live
births to about 1 in 2500 births.1 Acquired
hypothyroidism is also common in children
and emerges as a child ages.
Accurate detection and early
treatment of congenital hypothyroidism
in infants is critical
to preventing the neurodevelopmental
deficits that can occur if
., ,. . , r . , . A ndrew J. Bauer, the disease is left untreated. a/o, FAAP
As pointed out in a recent study,
congenital hypothyroidism
is one of the most common
preventable causes of mental
retardation with neurodevelopmental
outcome
inversely related to age of
diagnosis and treatment