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Incidence of cleft lip and palate in gorgan - northern iran: an epidemiological study
Arezou Mirfazeli1, Nafiseh Kaviany, Kaniz Reza Hosseinpour
1Gorgan Congenital Malformations Research Center, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Insights
The incidence of oral clefts in Gorgan, Iran, was 1.05 per 1,000 live births between 2004-2009. This rate indicates a slight increase compared to previous findings in the region.
Area of Science:
- Medical Science
- Public Health
- Genetics
Background:
- Orofacial clefts, including cleft lip (CL) and cleft palate (CP), are common congenital anomalies.
- These anomalies represent a significant public health concern globally and require epidemiological surveillance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence rate of oral clefting in Gorgan, Northern Iran, from 2004 to 2009.
- To analyze the distribution of different types of oral clefts and associated demographic factors.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive, hospital-based study involving 35,009 live newborns in Gorgan, Iran.
- Screening of all newborns for oral clefts, with data collection on birth details, cleft type, parental ethnicity, and consanguinity.
Main Results:
- The overall incidence of oral clefts was 1.05 per 1,000 live births.
- Cleft lip and palate (CLP) constituted 56.7% of cases, isolated cleft lip (CL) 8.1%, and isolated cleft palate (CP) 35.1%.
- Oral clefting incidence was higher in males (1.2/1000) than females (0.86/1000) and varied significantly by parental ethnicity, with the Turkman group showing a higher risk.
Conclusions:
- The incidence of oral clefts in Gorgan is 1.05 per 1,000 live births.
- This rate shows an increase from previous reports in the same geographical area.
- Findings highlight the importance of continued monitoring and potential etiological investigations for oral clefts in this population.
Objective:
Cleft lip with or without cleft palate is the most common orofacial congenital anomaly among live births. This study was carried out to determine the incidence rate of oral clefting in Gorgan, Northern Iran during 2004-2009.
Methods:
This descriptive hospital-based study was performed on 35,009 live newborns in Dezyani Hospital in Gorgan, Northern Iran during 2004-2009. All newborns were screened for oral clefts. Data including birth date, gender, type of oral clefts, parents' consanguinity, parental ethnicity and presence of other congenital anomalies were recorded for analysis.
Result:
The overall incidence rate of oral clefts during this 6-year period was 1.05 per 1000, or 1 per 946 live births. The incidence of cleft lip and isolated cleft palate was 0.08 and 0.37 per 1,000 live births, respectively. The ratio for different cleft types was 1:7:4 (CL: CLP: CP). The incidence of oral clefting was 1.2 per 1,000 male births and 0.86 per 1,000 female births (RR=1.40; 95% CI: 0.73-2.71). According to parental ethnicity, the incidence of oral clefting was 0.7, 1.7 and 1.26 per 1,000 in Native Fars, Turkman and Sistani, respectively. The relative risk for oral clefting in Turkman to native Fars group was 2.56 (p<0.02). In this study, 56.7% of clefts were CL+P, 8.1% were CL and 35.1% of cases were CP. CP was more common among girls (54%) than among boys (46%) but CL was more common among boys.
Conclusion:
The results showed that the incidence of oral clefts in the study population as being 1.05 per 1,000 live births, which has increased from 0.97 per 1,000 live births reported in an earlier study in this area.
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