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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1341378

Prevalence, characteristics and risk factors of birth defects in central China livebirths, 2015-2022

Provisionally accepted
Ping Luo Ping Luo 1Qian Li Qian Li 1Bin Yan Bin Yan 1Yusha Xiong Yusha Xiong 2Ting Li Ting Li 1Xiao Ding Xiao Ding 1Bing Mei Bing Mei 1*
  • 1 Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, China, China
  • 2 Gongan County Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Jingzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: This study analyzed the prevalence, epidemiological characteristics and risk factors of birth defects among livebirths in central China, aiming to provide evidences for the prevention of birth defects and government decision-makings.Methods: Birth data from China's Hubei Province between 2015 and 2022 were collected, including basic information of the livebirths, the mothers and the fathers, as well as information about delivery and each prenatal examination. The livebirths prevalence of birth defects was calculated and the trends were mapped. The basic characteristics of birth defects were evaluated by the difference analysis between case and health groups. Univariate and multivariate Poisson regression was performed to examine the independent risk factors for birth defects.Results: Among 43,568 livebirths, 166 livebirths were born with birth defects, resulted in a total prevalence rate of 3.81 per 1,000 livebirths, showing a remarkable uptrend from 0.41per 1,000 livebirths in 2015 to 9.23 per 1,000 livebirths in 2022.The peak of the prevalence was in January and February. Congenital malformation of the musculoskeletal system was the main type of birth defect in central China livebirths, followed by cleft lip and cleft palate. Overall, newborns with birth defect had significantly earlier delivery gestational age, poorer health and higher proportion of infants with low birth weight than healthy births. The gender of livebirths, excess weight at delivery (≥80kg) of mothers, more than 2 times of gravidity or parity of mothers, and advanced paternal age (≥40 years) were independent risk factors for birth defects (or specific birth defects).The livebirths prevalence of birth defects shows increasing trend in central China, which deserves the attention of the government and would-be parents.Elevated paternal age, excess maternal weight, gravidity and parity should be considered when planning their families.

    Keywords: Birth defects, Prevalence, Risk factors, Characteristics, Epidemiology, Congenital malformations, weight, age

    Received: 20 Nov 2023; Accepted: 06 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Luo, Li, Yan, Xiong, Li, Ding and Mei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Bing Mei, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, China, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.