Congenital Upper Airway Malformations and Malacia in Infancy: Population-Based Prevalence, Sex Differences, and...

Congenital upper airway malformations and malacia are important causes of respiratory morbidity in early infancy, yet population-based epidemiological data remain scarce, particularly in Latin America. Most available estimates derive from single-centre cohorts, limiting generalizability and health system planning.

We conducted a nationwide, retrospective, population-based study using Colombia's administrative healthcare database (RIPS). We identified healthcare encounters coded with ICD-10 diagnoses corresponding to congenital upper airway malformations and malacia among children younger than 1 year between 2016 and 2024. Crude and sex-specific prevalence rates were calculated per 100 000 children. Age-standardised prevalence rates were estimated using the WHO world standard population. Temporal trends were assessed using Poisson regression models with population offsets and visualised using LOESS smoothing.

A total of 29 450 cases were identified, corresponding to a national crude prevalence of 263.0 per 100 000 children and an age-standardised prevalence of 23.1 per 100 000. The most frequent diagnoses were congenital nasal septum perforation, laryngomalacia, tracheomalacia, and unspecified congenital nasal malformations. Overall prevalence was higher among females than males, although marked heterogeneity was observed across specific diagnoses. Temporal trend analysis demonstrated a significant annual increase of approximately 3% in upper airway malformations, with diagnosis-specific patterns showing increasing, stable, or decreasing trends over time.

Congenital upper airway malformations and malacia represent a substantial and evolving burden in Colombian infants. Population-based administrative data provide valuable insights into disease frequency, sex differences and temporal trends, supporting their use for health system planning and epidemiological surveillance.