Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34082800›Full record

SynthesisOrphanet journal of rare diseases2021

Birth prevalence of phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Pamela K Foreman, Andrea V Margulis, Kimberly Alexander, Renee Shediac, Brian Calingaert, Abenah Harding, Manel Pladevall-Vila, Sarah Landis

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Orphanet journal of rare diseases, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Current state of the treatment landscape of phenylketonuria.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2025
    Review
  6. [Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2024
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. An UpdatedGenes · 2021
    Article
  14. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Pamela K ForemanBioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc, 770 Lindaro Street, San Rafael, CA, 94901, USA.
Andrea V MargulisRTI Health Solutions, Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 605, 9-4, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
Kimberly AlexanderBioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc, 770 Lindaro Street, San Rafael, CA, 94901, USA.
Renee ShediacBioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc, 770 Lindaro Street, San Rafael, CA, 94901, USA.
Brian CalingaertRTI Health Solutions, North Carolina, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709-2194, USA.
Abenah HardingRTI Health Solutions, North Carolina, 3040 East Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709-2194, USA.
Manel Pladevall-VilaRTI Health Solutions, Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 605, 9-4, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
Sarah LandisBioMarin (U.K.) Limited, 10 Bloomsbury Way, London, WC1A 2SL, UK. sarah.landis@bmrn.com.ORCID 0000-0001-9617-3958
BioMarin (United States) · USRTI Health Solutions · USBioMarin (United Kingdom) · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPhenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) deficiency is an autosomal recessive disorder that results in elevated concentrations of phenylalanine (Phe) in the blood. If left untreated, the accumulation of Phe can result in profound neurocognitive disability. The objective of this systematic literature review and meta-analysis was to estimate the global birth prevalence of PAH deficiency from newborn screening studies and to estimate regional differences, overall and for various clinically relevant Phe cutoff values used in confirmatory testing.

methodsThe protocol for this literature review was registered with PROSPERO (International prospective register of systematic reviews). Pubmed and Embase database searches were used to identify studies that reported the birth prevalence of PAH deficiency. Only studies including numeric birth prevalence reports of confirmed PAH deficiency were included.

resultsFrom the 85 publications included in the review, 238 birth prevalence estimates were extracted. After excluding prevalence estimates that did not meet quality assessment criteria or because of temporal and regional overlap, estimates from 45 publications were included in the meta-analysis. The global birth prevalence of PAH deficiency, estimated by weighting regional birth prevalences relative to their share of the population of all regions included in the study, was 0.64 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53-0.75) per 10,000 births and ranged from 0.03 (95% CI 0.02-0.05) per 10,000 births in Southeast Asia to 1.18 (95% CI 0.64-1.87) per 10,000 births in the Middle East/North Africa. Regionally weighted global birth prevalences per 10,000 births by confirmatory test Phe cutoff values were 0.96 (95% CI 0.50-1.42) for the Phe cutoff value of 360 ± 100 µmol/L; 0.50 (95% CI 0.37-0.64) for the Phe cutoff value of 600 ± 100 µmol/L; and 0.30 (95% CI 0.20-0.40) for the Phe cutoff value of 1200 ± 200 µmol/L.

conclusionsSubstantial regional variation in the birth prevalence of PAH deficiency was observed in this systematic literature review and meta-analysis of published evidence from newborn screening. The precision of the prevalence estimates is limited by relatively small sample sizes, despite widespread and longstanding newborn screening in much of the world.

Indexed as

PhenylketonuriasHumansInfant, NewbornNeonatal ScreeningPhenylalaninePrevalenceSystematic Reviews as TopicPhenylalanineHyperphenylalaninemiaNewborn screeningPhenylalanine hydroxylase deficiencyPhenylketonuriaPrevalence

Identifiers

PMID34082800
PMCPMC8173927
OpenAlexW3164820955

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.