21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

CONONGENITAL ADRENAL hyperplasia (CAH) is an inborn error of metabolism that can produce life-threatening disease in the first one to three weeks of life, unless properly diagnosed and managed. This autosomal recessive disease results in insufficient biosynthesis of cortisol due to an enzyme defect in the adrenal gland. CAH due to 21-hydroxylase (21-OH) deficiency is found in 1/11,000–1/15,000 people in the general population, with a prevalence as high as 1/750 people in some populations such as the Yupik Eskimos in Alaska and the people of La Réunion in France.¹ Males and females are equally affected by this disease due to the autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance.