Congenital anomalies prevalence in Addis Ababa and the Amhara region, Ethiopia: a descriptive cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background During the first three months of pregnancy, the developing embryo may be susceptible to external and internal factors, which may lead to structural and functional congenital anomalies. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of congenital anomalies in Addis Ababa and the Amhara region, Ethiopia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on children 0–17 years of age who visited the 16 selected hospitals in Addis Ababa and the Amhara Region between January 1 and July 5, 2015. The proportions of neonates, infants, and children with external and internal congenital anomalies whether the anomalies were major or minor were estimated. Results Out of 76,201 children, 1518 of whom 57.6% were male identified with congenital anomalies. The overall proportion of congenital anomaly was 1.99% (95% CI: 1.89–2.091) i.e., 199 per 10,000 children. The proportion of neural tube defects, orofacial clefts, masculo-skeletal system anomalies, syndrome disorders, and cardiovascular system problems were 40.3% 37.7–43, 23.3% 21.3–25.4, 23.1% 20.9–25.2, 8% 6.7–9.4, and 2.6% 1.8–3.4, with a 95% CI, respectively. The majority (72.5%) of the mothers were multigravidae; 38(2.5%) of the mothers and 32(2.1%) of the fathers had history of other children with congenital anomalies. Similarly, 20(1.3%) of the participant children’s mothers and 17(1.1%) of the fathers had familial history of congenital anomaly. Iron folate and multivitamin use by mothers during preconception and early pregnancy was found to be low. Conclusion Neural tube defects, orofacial clefts, and musculoskeletal anomalies were the observed prevalent problems. Maternal illness, viral infections, and malnutrition were seen in a significant number of the mothers. Iron folate/folic acid and multivitamin use by the mothers during and before pregnancy was very low.

Prevalence of congenital malformations at the “les Orangers” maternity and reproductive health Hospital of Rabat: descriptive study of 470 anomalies

“…However some studies, such as those in Irak, India, Turkey and Ethiopia [20,[25][26][27], reported that neurological malformations ranked first with higher prevalence.…”

Magnitude and Associated Factors of Neural Tube Defects in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…To our knowledge, the current work is the first systematic review and meta-analysis that explored the prevalence of NTDs and associated factors among children in Ethiopia. After intense searching, data were explored and analyzed from a total of 15 studies 20,[23][24][25][26][27]29,31,32,[36][37][38][39][40][41] conducted in different regions of the country. From these studies, 10 studies 23,24,26,27,29,31,[36][37][38][39] were used to compute the pooled prevalence of NTDs and 6 studies 20,25,26,32,40,41 were used for identifying the risk factor of NTDs.…”

“…Most of the studies were conducted in the central and northern part of the country. All studies were cross-sectional studies 23,24,26,27,29,31,[37][38][39] except a cohort study conducted in Tigray. 36 All of the studies were conducted Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; BMI, body mass index; NA, not applicable; DD, dietary diversity; BF, breast feeding; PX, pregnancy.…”

“…39 In this study, the prevalence of NTDs was computed per 10 000 children, and 40.5 to 238 NTD cases per 10 000 children were reported in the primary studies. 23,24,26,27,29,31,[36][37][38][39] The largest magnitude was reported from a study done in Addis Ababa 39 where 2 out of 84 newborns had NTDs (238 NTDs per 10 000 newborns). The second (145 NTDs per 10 000 newborns) and third (131 NTDs per 10 000) highest rates were reported from studies conducted in the Tigray region.…”

Modifiable risk factors of congenital malformations in bale zone hospitals, Southeast Ethiopia: an unmatched case-control study

“…One such country with high rates of congenital malformation is Ethiopia. In central and north-west Ethiopia, the proportion of congenital anomaly was 199 per 10,000 children who visited the hospitals [18]. This is not surprising as evidence indicated that the highest numbers of birth defects occurred in low and middleincome countries where environmental teratogenic risk factors were more problematic as compared to highincome countries [2,19].…”