Congenital heart defects in Central Australia

Abstract

Objective: To determine the incidence of congenital heart defects (CHD) in Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal infants in Central Australia and to compare this with the incidence elsewhere in Australia. Design and setting: Data on cases were obtained from patient records of the Alice Springs Hospital, Central Australia, the sole referral centre for paediatric and initial cardiac diagnostic services for the region. Participants: Patients with CHD proven by echocardiography reported between 1 January 1993 and 30 June 2000. Main outcome measures: Incidence of CHD using all live births in Central Australia as the denominator. Results: 108 patients with CHD were detected among 6156 live births (incidence, 17.5 per 1000; 95% CI, 14.9–21.7 per 1000); 57 of 2991 were Aboriginal (19.0 per 1000; 95% CI, 14.4–24.6 per 1000) and 51 of 3165 were non‐Aboriginal (16.1 per 1000; 95% CI, 12.0–21.1 per 1000). The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (relative risk, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.81–1.72). CHD incidence in Central Australia was significantly higher than that reported for other parts of Australia (4.3 per 1000 live births in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, 1981–1984; 7.65 and 12 per 1000 total births in Western Australia, 1980–1989, and South Australia, 1993–2000, respectively). Conclusions: The high rates of CHD in Central Australia may partly reflect the high utilisation of echocardiography for assessing minor lesions. However, the incidence of both major and minor types of CHD was significantly higher than previously reported from other regions of Australia. The role of socioenvironmental factors in this high incidence should be explored.

Associations between congenital heart defects and genetic and morphological anomalies. The importance of prenatal screening

“…Heart defects are the most frequently observed morphological defects 9 , with a reported incidence in very wide ranges between 6 and 18 cases per 1000 live births 11,12 . These numbers may reach 30/1000 when taking into consideration bicuspid aortic valves, and 75 cases per 1000 live births when including all insignificant forms of CHDs, including minor septal defects 13 .…”

O Perfil Epidemiológico dos Pacientes com Cardiopatias Congênitas Submetidos à Cirurgia no Hospital do Coração

“…Das 300 cirurgias realizadas no Hospital do Coração, no período de agosto de 2005 a julho de 2010 em pacientes portadores de cardiopatias congênitas, sem predomínio entre os gêneros. Achados semelhantes foram relatados por diversos autores (BOLISETTY et al, 2004;RODRÍGUEZ et al, 2009); outros encontraram predomínio de cardiopatias congênitas no gênero feminino (NINA et al, 2007).…”

“…A literatura mostra, no período de 1983 a 1992, através de diferentes estudos realizados na Suécia, França e Califórnia, que a incidência de cardiopatias congênitas variou de 4/1000 a 50/1000 em crianças nascidas vivas (PRADAT et al, 2003;HARRIS et al, 2003;BOLISETTY et al, 2004;YANG et al, 2009). No Brasil, especificamente no sul do Paraná, os dados apontam uma variação de incidência de 0,6/1000 a 10/ 1000 nascidos vivos e é estimado o surgimento de 28 mil novos casos por ano, e desses, 23 mil irão necessitar de intervenção cirúrgica (GUITTI, 2000;RIVERA et al, 2007).…”

Congenital heart disease in 111 225 births in Belgium: birth prevalence, treatment and survival in the 21st century

“…Although we did not collect data on the patients’ race, we assumed that this finding reflects the birth prevalence of heart defects in Caucasians since the majority of the Belgian population is Caucasian. In other ethnicities, for instance in Afro‐Americans or in Australian aboriginals, the birth prevalence of congenital heart disease is higher (12,13). Furthermore, to determine the birth prevalence of congenital heart disease in our sample, we included patients who were diagnosed within their first 5 years of life (2002–2007).…”