Incidence of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency in Canada using the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program: Role of newborn screening

BACKGROUND: The incidence of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) was estimated using the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP) in Canada over a three-year period. Data regarding mutations associated with MCADD cases were collected wherever available. METHODS: Data were collected over a 36-month period using a monthly mailed questionnaire distributed through the CPSP to more than 2500 Canadian paediatricians, medical geneticists and paediatric pathologists. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: During the three years of MCADD surveillance, 46 confirmed cases out of a total of 71 reported cases were found - an average of approximately 15 cases per year. This rate is lower than the initial estimate of approximately 30 cases per year of MCADD in Canada, based on the reported incidence of MCADD in the literature of approximately one in 10,000 to one in 20,000. All cases ascertained by newborn screening were asymptomatic. There were two deaths, both in jurisdictions without newborn screening for MCADD. The data support population-based newborn screening for MCADD.