Prevalence of congenital malformations in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states of Nigeria from 1980–2003

Abstract

A retrospective study was conducted on the prevalence of congenital malformations in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states of Nigeria from 1980-2003. These states lie in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The aim of the study was to determine the percentage of occurrence of birth defects and provide reference data for this part of the country. Details of congenital malformations were compiled by reviewing the delivery register of the records departments of maternity sections of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, St Luke's Hospital Anua and St Mary's Hospital Uruakpan. A total of 127,929 births were recorded, of which 452 cases of malformations were recorded. The anomalies recorded in the skeletal system were the highest with 132 cases (29.2%) detected. Other malformations were found to be associated with the central nervous system with 111 cases (24.6%) detected. Those associated with the urogenital system were found in 83 cases (18.4%). Congenital anomalies of the lip, palate and jaw were found in 56 cases (12.4%), while those of the eye and ear were found in 12 cases (2.7%). Those of the gastrointestinal tract were found in 29 cases (6.4%), while those of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems were found in 28 cases (6.2%) and in one case (0.2%), respectively. Fifteen cases (3.3%) were associated with chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. However, these results do not provide a complete incidence of congenital malformations in the two states studies because most anomalies are not recorded in rural health and traditional birth centers.

Major Congenital Malformations in Barbados: The Prevalence, the Pattern, and the Resulting Morbidity and Mortality

“…Our prevalence rate is lower than those reported in many other population based studies in published literature which varies between 100 and 300 per 10,000 births [5, 23, 24, 33]. However, this difference is most likely due to the difference in the study design and our study compares well with the prevalence rate of congenital malformations from some other similarly designed population based studies using ICD10 classification that have reported similarly lower prevalence rates of less than 100 per 10, 000 births [3, 9, 32, 34]. It is interesting to note that the only other population based study from the Caribbean is from Cuba and has reported similarly low prevalence of congenital malformation at 47/10,000 live births [2].…”

“…This was followed by malformations of the musculoskeletal system (16% of all malformations) and digestive system (13% of all malformations). Once again, it is evident from the literature that there are large reported variations in pattern of congenital malformations involving different body systems in different populations around the world [3–9, 14–16]. A similar study from Saudi Arabia reported that the major congenital anomalies among all live births were mostly observed in the cardiovascular system (CVS), followed by musculoskeletal/limb [14].…”

“…There are numerous studies from the developed countries on the prevalence and the pattern of congenital malformation and their trends from well-designed multicenter surveillance programs [6, 8, 10–13, 15, 22]. However, epidemiological data on congenital malformations from long-term population-based studies originating from the developing countries is scanty [3, 5, 23, 24], and that from the Caribbean region is lacking altogether. The good epidemiological data on the prevalence rate and pattern of birth defects in a specific region gives an opportunity of identifying some etiological factors and can be useful for their prevention in this country and in the region.…”

Prevalence and pattern of birth defects in a tertiary health facility in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria

“…The prevalence of congenital abnormalities in Europe in 2012 was 25 per 1,000 births 5. The figure included 15,867 women who had babies with congenital abnormalities at birth, 364 women who had intrauterine fetal death due to abnormalities, and 3,660 women who had termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormalities, giving a total of 19,891 in 30 countries.…”

“…The data are mainly hospital-based without taking into consideration the general population. For instance, the prevalence of congenital malformations noted in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states in the South-South region and Kano state in the North-East region of Nigeria were 0.4% and 5.8%, respectively 5,6. The figures for the South East and the South West were 0.42% and 1.58%, respectively 7,8…”