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Objectives: To determine whether pregnant women and their newborns show evidence of iodine deficiency, and to examine the correlation between maternal urine iodine concentration (UIC) and newborn thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level., Design: A cross-sectional study., Setting: Hospital antenatal care services (March-May 2004) and private obstetrician clinics (June 2004) in the Central Coast area of New South Wales., Participants: 815 pregnant women (> or = 28 weeks' gestation) and 824 newborns., Main Outcome Measures: World Health Organization/International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders criteria for assessing severity of iodine deficiency (recommended levels: < 20% of urine samples in a population with UIC < 50 microg/L; and < 3% of newborns with whole-blood TSH level > 5 mIU/L)., Results: The median UIC for pregnant women was 85 microg/L, indicating mild iodine deficiency. Almost 17% of pregnant women had a UIC < 50 microg/L, and 18 newborns (2.2%) had TSH values > 5 mIU/L. There was no statistically significant linear correlation between neonatal whole-blood TSH level and maternal UIC (r = - 0.03; P = 0.4). Mothers with a UIC < 50 microg/L were 2.6 times (relative risk = 2.65; 95% CI, 1.49-4.73; P = 0.01) more likely to have a baby with a TSH level > 5 mIU/L., Conclusion: The pregnant women surveyed were mildly iodine deficient. TSH values for their newborns were mostly within acceptable limits. Ongoing surveillance of the iodine status of NSW communities to establish trends over time is recommended.

Objectives: To estimate the number of women of childbearing age in New South Wales whose children are at risk of the maternal phenylketonuria (PKU) syndrome (intellectual disability, microcephaly, congenital malformations)., Setting: New South Wales, 1996., Design: Comparison of number of women with PKU aged 15-44 years on the NSW PKU database (observed number) with expected number derived from population data., Main Outcome Measures: Observed and expected numbers of women with PKU (defined as blood phenylalanine levels > or = 400 mumol/L, and phenylalanine-restricted diet recommended) by age; number with no clinical contact with the PKU service in previous year; outcomes of pregnancies in women with PKU (January 1994 to July 1996)., Results: 110 women aged 15-44 years with PKU were listed on the database. The expected number was 145 (95% confidence interval, 122-171). The difference was greatest in the 30-44 years age group (born before comprehensive newborn screening), with only 55% of the expected number listed. Sixteen women who had been diagnosed with PKU at birth were not having regular follow-up, while 18 women had been diagnosed only after investigation of abnormalities in their children. Of 28 pregnancies managed by the NSW PKU service, 19 were considered unaffected by the maternal PKU syndrome and five affected (another three did not reach term; one outcome was unknown). Of 46 unmanaged pregnancies, all were affected., Conclusion: There is an urgent need for better follow-up of women with PKU and for education of health professionals about the MPKU syndrome, its recognition, the risks of untreated pregnancy and the benefits of dietary treatment.

Since screening of newborn infants for phenylketonuria (PKU) by Guthrie bacterial inhibition assay was established in the 1960s, 2 556 498 infants have been tested in Australia. Two hundred and twenty-two cases of PKU, and five cases of the variant forms of malignant hyperphenylalaninaemia (MHPA) have been found over this period, an incidence of 1/11 516 for PKU, and 1/511 300 for MHPA. In 1979, 18 infants with PKU and one with MHPA were detected. Screening for congenital hypothyroidism was carried out in four centres, and 28 new cases were detected in 1979 (an incidence of 1/5746).

Homozygous cystinuria was ascertained in 110 individuals (44 men) from 78 families because of symptoms in the propositi. The most common renal symptoms were calculi which occurred in 91% of the propositi and in 52% of affected family members. One-third of patients had urinary tract infections. There was a high rate of renal morbidity at an early age; 16 patients had undergone nephrectomy at a mean age of 25 years (range, 12-40 years). Two-thirds of subjects had type I cystinuria on family testing--the same ratio as that reported in a previous study of cases detected by newborn screening in the same population--which eliminates genetic type as a risk factor for stone formation. On the basis of all data, a 62% probability of stone formation by the age of 25 years in patients with cystinuria was estimated. The patients were shorter than Australian controls, and an association between gout and cystinuria was found in adult men.