engleski

Epidemiological surveillance of congenital anomalies in north-western Croatia

BACKGROUND: Birth defects are the most important cause of perinatal mortality in European countries. International standardised networks of registries of patients such as the EUROCAT allow data comparison and give the possibility of gaining experience in surveillance and prevention of rare diseases. AIM: To determine population-based prevalence rates, types and epidemiological characteristics of the major congenital anomalies in northwestern Croatia using standardised EUROCAT methodology.RESULTS: During the 1990-1999 period, 1274 children with congenital anomalies per 64.364 births were registered, with the mean prevalence of 19.7/10000 births. Stability in the overall prevalence of malformations was observed, but there were differences in congenital anomaly rates between different regions (p<0.01). Limb anomalies (32.3%) and congenital heart defects (24.2%) represent the largest groups of anomalies detected, followed by the defects of the urogenital system, gastrointestinal system, and central nervous system. An unusually high rate of polydactyly was observed in Varazdin (16.9/10000 compared with mean rate of 8.0/10000 for EUROCAT registries). The most frequent congenital heart defects were ventricular septal defect (14.5/10000), atrial septal defect (8.4/10000), and transposition fo the great vessels (2.2/10000). Down syndrome was the most frequent chromosomal aberration (10.7/10000). CONCLUSION: Differences in congential anomaly rates between different regions of Croatia require further investigation in order to determine whether they represent a true difference in the prevalence rates or they are due to small number variation, differences in clinical reporting or characteristics of the population (e.g. size, maternal age).

congenital anomalies; prevalence; registry

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