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Congenital heart disease: prevalence at livebirth. The Baltimore-Washington Infant Study
Insights
The Baltimore-Washington Infant Study found a congenital heart disease prevalence of 3.7 per 1,000 livebirths. This rate, similar to other studies, suggests stable estimates for major heart abnormalities in the eastern US.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Pediatrics
- Cardiology
Background:
- Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a significant public health concern in infants.
- Accurate prevalence data is crucial for understanding disease burden and resource allocation.
- Previous studies on CHD prevalence have shown variability due to diagnostic methods and categorizations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of congenital heart disease in infants within the Baltimore-Washington region.
- To compare current findings with historical data from other case series.
- To assess the stability of CHD prevalence estimates over time and across different methodologies.
Main Methods:
- A regional epidemiologic study was conducted for infants born in 1981-1982.
- Cases of CHD were confirmed within the first year of life using echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, surgery, or autopsy.
- Prevalence rates were calculated per 1,000 livebirths and compared with eight previous case series.
Main Results:
- A total of 664 infants were diagnosed with CHD.
- The overall prevalence rate was 3.7 per 1,000 livebirths.
- A prevalence of 2.4 per 1,000 livebirths was observed for cases confirmed by invasive methods only.
- Comparison with the New England Infant Cardiac Program, using similar methods, indicated stable estimates for major morphologic abnormalities in the eastern US.
Conclusions:
- The prevalence of confirmed CHD in the Baltimore-Washington region is 3.7 per 1,000 livebirths.
- Despite variations in diagnostic approaches across studies, major CHD abnormalities appear to have stable prevalence rates in the eastern United States.
- The study reinforces the approximate rate of 4 per 1,000 livebirths for confirmed CHD over a 40-year period across multiple case series.
Abstract:
The Baltimore-Washington Infant Study is a regional epidemiologic study of congenital heart disease. Among Infants born in the study area in 1981 and 1982, 664 had a diagnosis of congenital heart disease confirmed in the first year of life by echocardiography, cardiac catheterization, cardiac surgery, or autopsy. The prevalence rate was 3.7/1,000 livebirths for all cases and 2.4/1,000 livebirths for cases confirmed by invasive methods only. Diagnosis-specific prevalence rates of congenital heart disease are compared with those of eight previous case series. Changing diagnostic categorizations in the time span covered and methodological differences resulted in great variation of the data. However, the data of the New England Infant Cardiac Program which used the same case discovery methods showed similar occurrences of major morphologic abnormalities, suggesting that these are stable basic estimates in the eastern United States. For all case series, the rate of confirmed congenital heart disease was approximately 4/1,000 livebirths over the 40-year time span.