[Epidemiological study of intestinal atresias: central-eastern France Registry 1976-1992]

Our purpose was to describe the epidemiology of small intestinal atresia.

We used data collected by the Central-East France Congenital Malformations Registry from 1976 through 1992 to evaluate the prevalence of different types of intestinal atresia in liveborn and stillborn infants and to study some demographic and clinical features such as sex ratio, multiple births, gestational age, birth weight, maternal age, maternal disease, associated malformations.

Through surveillance of more than 1.5 million births, we identified 344 liveborn and 14 stillborn infants with intestinal atresia (1A). The prevalence of 1A was 2.25 per 10,000 livebirths. Fifty percent of the liveborn infants had duodenal atresia, 36% had jejunoileal atresia, 7% had colic atresia, 3% had intestinal duplication and 5% had multiple atresia. The twinning rate was 4.4% which is significantly higher than in the non malformed population. Gestational age was less than 37 weeks in 35.4% of the cases. Birth weight was less than 2,500 g in 52% of the cases. For those two variables we observed significant differences among the different types of malformations. Study of 1A rates by maternal age showed an increased risk below the age of 20 (p < 10(-5)). We didn't find significant differences compared to the population for ovulation induction and maternal diabetes. Study of associated malformations demonstrated significant differences in rates and types of associated malformations in the different groups of 1A which suggests heterogenous embryological mechanisms.

These findings confirm the literature data for most of the epidemiological characteristics. Only the association of an increased risk in the teenage mothers group was not previously described. This finding has to be confirmed by others studies.