Congenital Abnormalities in the African Newborn

A genetic and epidemiologic study of polydactyly in human embryos in Japan

“…This anomaly occurs about ten times more frequently in Negroes than in Caucasians (Frazier, 1960;Simpkiss and Lowe, 1961;Altemus and Ferguson, 1965;Woolf and Myrianthopoulos, 1973), and it is suggested that this malformation has a strong genetic component in Negro populations. In the Japanese, the incidence of polydactyly with and without associated anomalies has been reported as 0.9-1.2 per 1,000 newborns (Mitani, 1954;Ohkura, 1956;Neel, 1958)o Neel (1958 compared the reported incidence figures of polydactyly in several racial groups and noted that the frequency at birth in Japanese is slightly higher than in Caucasians but much lower than in American Negroes.…”

Malformations in Northeastern Brazil

“…Strabism us is more frequent in whites th a n Negroes (%\ = 5.66, P < 0 .0 2 ), while preheliciue fistula is more frequent in Negroes than whites (xl = 4.35, P < 0 .0 4 ), as was pointed out by Sim pkiss and Lowe (1961). There is no significant racial difference for polydactyly, which other authors have reported to be more frequent in Negroes ( Wallace et al, 1953;Frazier, 1960;Sim pkiss and Lowe, 1961;Iv y , 1962;Saldanha, 1963). Probably the small size of our sam ple and high adm ixture rates account for the nonsigni ficance of our result.…”

A prehistoric example of polydactyly from the Iron Age site of Simbusenga, Zambia

“…For example, among the Maasai, Merker (1910) states, ''Excess fingers and toes are not amputated; they are not regarded as particularly unsightly.'' Worldwide surveys in Table 3 suggest that the highest incidence of polydactyly occurs in Africans or in populations with African ancestry (Frazier, 1960;Sesgin and Stark, 1961;Scott-Emauakpor and Madueke, 1976;Simkiss and Lowe, 1961;Stevenson et al, 1966). However, Woolf and Myrianthopoulos (1973) argue that there are numerous types of polydactyly and that population frequencies vary by type.…”

“…However, Woolf and Myrianthopoulos (1973) argue that there are numerous types of polydactyly and that population frequencies vary by type. Nearly 100% of the polydactyly reported in African populations is postaxial in nature, and the majority of polydactylies in African-American groups are also postaxial, consisting of soft tissue structures (pendunculated postminimus) on the fifth digit (Scott-Emauakpor and Madueke, 1976;Simkiss and Lowe, 1961;Stevenson et al, 1966;Warkany, 1971). In contrast, in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Ireland, 100% of polydactylies are preaxial in nature.…”