Encephalocoele-- epidemiological variance in New Zealand

Considerable variation in the epidemiology of encephalocoeles throughout the world has been described in previous studies. We analysed 46 cases of encephalocoele presenting to Auckland and Starship Children's Hospital over the last 25 years to determine if our experience differed from that seen in a typical Western population, and to determine if there was variation between the different racial groups within New Zealand. The overall incidence of encephalocoeles in the area serviced by the neurosurgical services of Auckland and Starship Children's Hospitals was 1 in 13,418 births. This rate is at the higher end of the incidence spectrum compared with previous series. Overall, New Zealand appears to demonstrate a typical Western distribution of encephalocoele location. In people of Pacific Island descent, both the rate of encephaloceles (1 per 8,873 births) and the percentage of sincipital lesions (44%) differed from the rest of the population. Additionally, a higher than expected proportion of sincipital encephalocoeles was seen in male babies (5:1 male to female ratio). In most other regards our population resembles that of western cohorts published in the literature.