Newborn Screening for Congenital Hypothyroidism in India– Is OVERDUE

Neonatal screening is an essential preventative public health program, and is the standard practice of care world– wide. India is yet to start any publicly funded program 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 congenital hypothyroidism every year, yet there is no screening program 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.