Prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in children referred to health centers in Tabriz

Introduction: Given that the implementation of preventive measures and health policies in each country initially requires knowledge of the prevalence of each disease and the prevalence of diseases in different geographical areas are different, the present study aimed at Prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in children referred to health centers in Tabriz. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 2019 with the participation of all children born in Tabriz (26,044 children). Sampling was by census method and all children were evaluated for TSH and T4 thyroid tests. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed. Results: Recal rate was 6.2% and thus a serum test was performed for these infants and it was found that the prevalence of this disease was equal to 1 case in 289 infants. The prevalence in boys was 1 in 261 births and the prevalence in girls was 1 in 325 births. Thus, the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism is higher in boys than girls, but this difference is not statistically significant (P=0.128). Conclusions: The prevalence of hypothyroidism in the study is higher than the average of other countries and geographical areas, which requires further studies in this area.