Spina bifida: epidemiological data from a pilot study

The epidemiology of spina bifida has great geographical variation. A small unselected group of patients were registered as part of a pilot project on infantile hydrocephalus. Twenty-two patients, born 1963-69 in Vejle county, Denmark were identified, giving an incidence of 0.77 per 1000 births. The mothers had 26 pregnancies prior to the spina bifida children; 14 of these had resulted in normal viable infants (54%). Seven of the patients had other congenital malformations, unrelated to the neural tube defect. All unoperated patients died. Four of 10 operated children were alive at age 7-12 years, three of them without handicap.