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Comparison of Down's Syndrome Screening Strategies in Asians combining Serum Free Beta‐hCG and Alpha‐fetoprotein with Maternal Age
Author(s) -
Hsu J. J.,
Hsieh T. T.,
Soong Y. K.,
Spencer K.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0223(199708)17:8<707::aid-pd142>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - medicine , down syndrome , alpha fetoprotein , obstetrics , gestational age , false positive rate , gynecology , population , pregnancy , biology , mathematics , statistics , environmental health , psychiatry , hepatocellular carcinoma , genetics
High free beta human chorionic gonadotropin (β‐hCG) and low alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) levels were found in 47 Asian Down's syndrome pregnancies (median values 2·79 and 0·77 MOM, respectively). At a 5 per cent false‐positive rate, free β‐hCG alone would identify 46·8 per cent of Down's syndrome pregnancies, age alone detected 34·5 per cent of affected cases, whilst AFP alone detected 17 per cent and free β‐hCG/AFP MOM ratios detected 48·9 per cent of Down's syndrome cases. When combined with maternal age‐specific risk, free β‐hCG could achieve a 59·6 per cent detection rate, with AFP achieving 42·6 per cent, free β‐hCG/AFP MOM ratios 61·7 per cent, and combined free β‐hCG and AFP a detection rate of 63·8 per cent for a 5 per cent false‐positive rate. Down's syndrome screening at an early gestational age (before 18 weeks) could achieve a 68 per cent detection rate with a 5 per cent false‐positive rate, compared with a 59·1 per cent detection rate for a 5·2 per cent false‐positive rate when screening at a late gestational age. The use of free β‐hCG in Down's syndrome screening programmes can yield an improved efficacy in the detection of Down's syndrome in an Asian population. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.