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[Prevalence of congenital malformations in newborns in the Araucanía region]
Maribel Muñoz M1, Carlos Kilchemmann F2, Andrés Román N3
1Universidad De La Frontera, Temuco, Chile.
Insights
Congenital malformations affect 1.7% of neonates in Chile's Araucanía Region, with heart defects and cleft lip/palate being most common. Incidence rates for specific conditions were higher than previously reported.
Area of Science:
- Neonatology
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Congenital anomalies are a leading cause of neonatal mortality globally.
- Chile reports a 3.9% prevalence of birth defects, but data for the Araucanía Region was lacking.
- This study addresses the knowledge gap regarding malformation prevalence in the Araucanía Region.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the prevalence of congenital malformations at birth.
- To identify the most common types of malformations in neonates.
- To provide regional data for public health planning.
Main Methods:
- A 10-year cross-sectional study (2009-2018) of 54,241 live births.
- Utilized hospital discharge data classified by ICD-10.
- Employed descriptive and analytical statistics using STATA 15 software.
Main Results:
- Identified 949 neonates with congenital malformations, yielding an overall prevalence of 1.7%.
- Most common malformations included ventricular septal defect (40.9/10,000 LNB) and atrial septal defect (21.5/10,000 LNB).
- Other significant findings: cleft lip and palate (14.0/10,000 LNB), congenital hypertrophic cardiomyopathies (8.1/10,000 LNB), and rectal atresia/anal absence (7.9/10,000 LNB).
Conclusions:
- The overall prevalence of congenital malformations in the Araucanía Region is comparable to national estimates.
- Specific malformation types exhibited significantly higher incidences than previously documented in other studies.
- Findings highlight the need for regional surveillance and potential intervention strategies.
Introduction:
Annually, 7.9 million neonates in the world have developmental anomalies. Together with prema turity, they constitute the main causes of mortality during the first year of life in developed and de veloping countries. In Chile, the estimated prevalence is 3.9% of all live births. There are no reports on the prevalence of malformations in the Araucanía Region.
Objective:
to estimate the prevalence of congenital malformations at birth in neonates hospitalized in a Neonatology Service.
Patients And Method:
cross-sectional study. Reference population: 54,241 live births at the Regional Hospi tal of Temuco over a 10-year period. Cases came from the neonatology hospital discharge database according to the ICD 10 classification, from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2018. Descriptive and analytical statistics were performed with the STATA 15 software.
Results:
949 neonates with one or more congenital malformations were identified. The overall prevalence of neonates with malforma tions was 1.7%, the most prevalent being ventricular septal defect 40.9 x 10,000 live newborns (LNB), atrial septal defect 21.5 x 10,000 LNB, cleft lip and palate 14.0 x 10,000 LNB, congenital hypertrophic cardiomyopathies 8.1 x 10,000 LNB, and congenital rectal atresia and stenosis or absence of the anus 7.9 x 10,000 LNB.
Conclusions:
the overall prevalence of malformations is similar to that reported for the country. When analyzing by type, we found significantly higher incidences than those repor ted in previous studies.
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