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Nineteen Years of National Screening for Congenital Hypothyroidism: Familial Cases with Thyroid Dysgenesis Suggest the Involvement of Genetic Factors

Pediatric Endocrinology Unit and INSERM, U-457, Hôpital Robert Debré (M.C., M.P., P.C., J.L.), 75019 Paris, France; INSERM, U-393, Hôpital Necker Enfants-Malades (S.L.), Paris, France; and INSERM, U-521, Institut Gustave Roussy (C.B.-P.), Villejuif, France

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Juliane Léger, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology Unit and INSERM, U-457, Hôpital Robert Debré, 48 boulevard Serurier, 75019 Paris, France. E-mail: juliane.leger{at}rdb.ap-hop-paris.fr

Although a few familial forms of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) due to thyroid dysgenesis (TD) have been reported, this disorder is usually considered to be sporadic. Recently, we reported that 2% of CH patients with TD have a positive familial history. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of these familial cases and to compare them with sporadic cases.

We used the French national population-based registry of the first 19-yr screening program, which included 14,416,428 screened neonates with a 100% recovery rate. Familial history of CH with TD was investigated by means of a questionnaire sent to the pediatricians (n = 592) who provided ongoing clinical care for the 4049 CH patients detected during this period, including 2863 CH cases due to TD. Information was obtained from 73% of these pediatricians who were following up 2472 CH patients with TD (86%).

In all, 67 patients with a positive family history of CH with TD were referred, belonging to 32 multiplex families (i.e. including at least 2 affected members). Families were identified with ectopic gland (n = 12), athyreosis (n = 7), or both (n = 13). Comparison of familial with isolated cases showed a similar etiological diagnosis distribution of CH (40% vs. 33% for athyreosis and 60% vs. 67% for ectopic thyroid gland, respectively), whereas a significantly lower predominance of females was found in familial than in isolated cases (1.4 vs. 2.7; P < 0.03). Extrathyroidal congenital malformations were found with a similarly higher incidence in familial and isolated CH populations compared with the general population (respectively, 9% and 8.2% vs. 2.5%).

In conclusion, although familial cases represent a minority of cases of congenital hypothyroidism caused by thyroid dysgenesis, they were observed in a significantly higher proportion (>15-fold) than would be expected from chance alone. This familial clustering, including athyreosis and ectopic thyroid gland, strongly suggests that genetic factors could be involved in thyroid dysgenesis with a common underlying mechanism for both etiological groups. Moreover, the high proportion of extrathyroidal congenital malformations in a population affected by CH due to TD suggests that the potential genetic factors involved in thyroid gland organogenesis are also involved in the development of other organs.

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