In most cases, Turner syndrome is a sporadic event, and for the parents of an individual with Turner syndrome the risk of recurrence is not increased for subsequent pregnancies. Rare exceptions may include the presence of a balanced translocation of the X chromosome in a parent, or where the mother has 45,X mosaicism restricted to her germ cells. Diagnosis
Prenatal
Turner syndrome may be diagnosed by amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling during pregnancy. Usually, fetuses with Turner syndrome can be identified by abnormal ultrasound findings (i.e., heart defect, kidney abnormality, cystic hygroma, ascites). In a study of 19 European registries, 67.2% of prenatally diagnosed cases of Turner syndrome were detected by abnormalities on ultrasound. 69.1% of cases had one anomaly present, and 30.9% had two or more anomalies.An increased risk of Turner syndrome may also be indicated by abnormal triple or quadruple maternal serum screen. The fetuses diagnosed through positive maternal serum screening are more often found to have a mosaic karyotype than those diagnosed based on ultrasonographic abnormalities, and conversely, those with mosaic karyotypes are less likely to have associated ultrasound abnormalities. Postnatal
Turner syndrome can be diagnosed postnatally at any age. Often, it is diagnosed at birth due to heart problems, an unusually wide neck or swelling of the hands and feet. However, it is also common for it to go undiagnosed for several years, often until the girl reaches the age of puberty and fails to develop typically (the changes associated with puberty do not occur).
In one study, 34 Turner syndrome girls without overt evidence of these tumors were found at preventative surgery to have a gonadoblastoma (7 cases), dysgerminoma (1 case), or non-specific in situ gonadal neoplasm (1 case). Turner syndrome girls with this sSMC otherwise have typical features of the Turner syndrome except for a minority who also have hirsutism and/or clitoral enlargement. Surgical removal of the gonads has been recommended to remove the threat of developing these sSMC-associated neoplasms. Tuner syndrome individuals with an sSMC that lacks the SRY gene are not at an increased risk of developing these cancers. Sensory
Hearing loss is common in Turner syndrome. Though at birth hearing is generally normal, chronic middle ear problems are frequent throughout childhood, which can cause permanent conductive hearing loss. In adulthood, sensorineural hearing loss occurs more often than in 46,XX women and at younger ages; though differing thresholds of hearing loss make it difficult to compare between studies, younger adult women with Turner syndrome are routinely found to have disproportionate rates of hearing issues, with sometimes up to half of women in their 20s and 30s having poor hearing. This hearing loss is progressive; at the age of 40, women with Turner syndrome have equivalent hearing loss to 46,XX women aged 60, on average. Cohort studies imply hearing loss may be more common in women who also have metabolic syndrome. The high prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss in Turner syndrome appears to be related to SHOX deficiency.Ocular and visual disorders are also increased in prevalence in Turner syndrome.