[Comparison of birth defects prevalence rates between hospital and community based surveillance data]

Birth defects surveillance (BDS) data of Cangzhou area, Hebei province in 1986 was studied to compare the prevalence rate from hospital based data (HBD) with that from community based data (CBD). Of 7,742 total births, 4,245 (55%) were born in the county hospitals and above, and 3,497 (45%) in the township hospitals and homes. The birth defects prevalence rate (BDPR) from HBD was 30.9 per 1,000 total births, while that from CBD was 10.5 per 1,000 total births. The difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.05). It was found that the higher BDPR from HBD was associated with the greater percentage of high risk pregnancies who delivered at the hospitals and who had higher risk of birth defects. The relationship of BDPRs between HBD and CBD, and others potential related factors need to be further studied.