BOSTON, June 5 (UPI) -- Almost all U.S. babies get screened for rare metabolic disorders, but the increase of tests also increases the chance of false positives.
Many states now test each newborn for 30 or more disorders, and the accompanying increase in false-positive results causes considerable parental stress, even when the baby proves negative on retesting, according to Susan Waisbren and Elizabeth Gurian of the division of genetics at Children's Hospital Boston.
The researchers interviewed 173 families who had received false-positive screening results and a comparison group of 67 families with normal newborn screening results.
Although mothers in the false-positive group were interviewed at least six months after their child's diagnosis had been ruled out, they reported more worry about their child's future and rated themselves less healthy than mothers in the comparison group.
The study, published in Pediatrics, also found that 15 percent of the mothers said their child needed extra parental care vs. 3 percent of mothers in the comparison group.
Waisbren speculates that a positive test result can increase expectations of illness in a parent even when it is later found to be in error.
