Clinical-epidemiological aspects of newborn infants with congenital anomalies

Dismorfología, Citogenética y Clínica: Resultados sobre los datos del ECEMC We have used the data gathered by the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC) during the period 1980-2002, in order to epidemiologically analyze some clinical aspects of a consecutive series of malformed newborn infants. Among a total of 1,838,654 newborns surveyed, 30,531 (1.66%) presented with congenital anomalies detected at birth. Data were analysed before and after the pass of the law permitting voluntary interruption of gestation (VIG) following the detection of anomalies in the fetus. Malformed infants were distributed by clinical presentation as isolated, multiply malformed or syndromes, according to our own classification system [Martínez-Frías et al, 2002: Rev Dismor Epidemiol V(1):2-8]. The 3 forms of clinical presentation are decreasing along the time, as a result of the impact of prenatal detection of anomalies and further VIG in some cases. We also analyzed 17 defects that were selected because of their relatively high frequency at birth, or due to the high morbidity/mortality that they bear, and because their frequency at birth is also monitored in other countries. Most of them show a high clinical heterogeneity, although some (such as gastroschisis, hypospadias, spina bifida, cleft lip, or diaphragmatic hernia) tend to present in their isolated form, while other (such as anophthalmia/microphthalmia) tend to associate to other anomalies. We also performed the etiologic distribution of infants with congenital anomalies in 3 study periods, and showed the number of cases in which the different types of syndromes were identified, as well as the minimal estimate of their frequency at birth and their gene map location, based on the OMIM database. We emphasize the importance of applying all known primary prevention measures, even more during blastogenesis, at the very early stages of pregnancy. On the other hand, we also underline the relevance of clinical analysis of malformed infants in order to organize homogeneous groups to which the epidemiological techniques can be applied. In this way, the statistical findings also will be clinically relevant. This is also important for the molecular studies that may give clues on the causes of congenital defects, as epidemiology of Human Genome can contribute to this kind of research, opening big opportunities in this field. No