Study on Newborn Screening for Congenital Hypothyroidism in India– Is Overdue

Neonatal screening is an essential preventative public health programme, and is the standard practice
of care world–wide. India is yet to start any publicly funded programme despite this having been
established in many countries for over 50 years. The purpose of neonatal screening is to reduce
morbidity and mortality in the newborn. Detection must have a clear benefit for the baby and be cost
effective when compared to the cost associated with delayed treatment. These criteria are clearly
satisfied for screening a baby at birth for congenital hypothyroidism (CHT). Though systematic
neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism was introduced in the early 1970 in many countries,
in India an estimated 10,000 babies are born with congenitial hypothyroidism every year, yet there is
no screening programme for this. We present the details of our study, which reveals that CHT in India
has a high incidence and is an URGENT high priority for public screening.