A 10‐year prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in Khorramabad (Urban Western Iran)

BACKGROUND: Congenital hypothyroidism in infants is the cause of mental retardation in children, it can be detected in patient and treated at a relatively cheap rate, preventing patient retard. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism among Khorramabad children. METHODS: In the present study, we identified all patients who had received levothyroxine prescriptions during the study period (2007–2017). Using this as a congenital hypothyroidism surrogate marker, we considered the congenital hypothyroidism prevalence in children above 3 years. RESULTS: Of 574 patients who had received levothyroxine during the neonatal period up to 3 years, the results of one‐variable logistic regression analysis showed that the chance of temporary disease in children with small thyroid ultrasonography was 62% less, than for those without problems, and this difference was significant. The chance of temporary disease in children who had other cases was 87% less than those without problems, and this difference was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The overall prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism in young patients up to 3 years is 0.143%, these values are at least twice those of previous estimates. This proposes an elevation in autoimmune thyroid disease, which is similitude to the rising prevalence of diabetes type 1, which possibly indicates a rising incidence of autoimmunity in youth.