Klinefelter Syndrome: What should we tell prospective parents?

Prenat Diagn. 2023 Feb;43(2):240-249. doi: 10.1002/pd.6250. Epub 2022 Oct 21.

Abstract

Klinefelter syndrome (KS) or 47,XXY is the most common sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA), occurring at a prevalence of 1 in 600 male pregnancies. Historically, only 25% of individuals with KS came to medical attention, for a range of issues across the life course including under-virilisation at birth, developmental and social concerns in childhood, absence, delay or arrest of puberty in adolescence or infertility in adulthood. Our understanding of the phenotypic spectrum of KS has been largely influenced by this ascertainment bias. With increasing uptake of antenatal noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), a corresponding increase in identification of KS has been documented. Population-based longitudinal data from infancy to adulthood on these individuals is lacking, which impedes balanced antenatal genetic counselling and raises issues for prospective parents and clinicians alike.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Klinefelter Syndrome* / diagnosis
  • Klinefelter Syndrome* / epidemiology
  • Klinefelter Syndrome* / genetics
  • Male
  • Noninvasive Prenatal Testing*
  • Parturition
  • Pregnancy
  • Prospective Studies
  • Sex Chromosome Aberrations