The Effects of False-positive Result in Newborn Congenital Hypothyroidism Screening to Parents in Guangxi, China
Abstract Background: As more than 200,000 neonates participate in newborn congenital hypothyroidism (CH) screening in Guangxi each year, the overall number of false positives has increased. Concerns arise regarding the potential demographic impact on parental stress and knowledge of CH results has emerged. Methods: 255 parents were invited to participate in the false-positive (FP) group, and 1040 parents were invited to participate in the control group. After providing consent, the parents completed a semistructured questionnaire on demographic characteristics, knowledge of CH and the parental stress index-short form (PSI-SF). Results: The parents in the FP group had better knowledge of CH and higher PSI scores than did the parents in the control group (both P <0.001). The result of Logistic Regression showed that the major influence factors of knowledge of CH were FP experience and source of knowledge (both P <0.001). The parents in the FP group who were well-informed during the recall phone call had lower PSI scores than did the other parents (P = 0.001). The results suggested that FP screening results may affect parental stress and the parent-child relationships. Conclusion: Targeted health education should be carried out to increase prospective parents’ knowledge of NBS and reduce parental stress when false-positive results are received.