Screening for MCADD outweighs risks

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say the benefits of screening newborns for a missing enzyme outweigh the risks.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor found screening for the metabolic disorder -- medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, known as MCADD -- may lead to false positives adding stress to parents, costing money and possibly subjecting a baby to unnecessary treatments and dietary restrictions.

However, they say the benefits of diagnosing these children early include preventing the risk of mental retardation, disability or death, and outweigh those risks.

The study findings, published in Pediatrics, found the costs of newborn screening for the illness amounted to $21,000 for every quality-adjusted life year that was gained. A quality-adjusted life year can be thought of as representing a year in perfect health.

"The cost-effectiveness of newborn screening for MCADD is comparable to cost-effectiveness for other childhood interventions, such as vaccinations," study lead author Lisa Prosser says in a statement. "Our results show that newborn screening remains cost-effective after accounting for the measured loss in quality of life associated with a false positive screen."