Long-term trends in the incidence of congenital anomalies in Central China from 1997 to 2019

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of, and trends in, congenital anomalies in Central China from 1997 to 2019.

Study design: This was a descriptive study.

Methods: We collected data describing 4,134,098 births from 75 hospital monitoring sites in Henan Province, Central China, from 1997 to 2019. A joinpoint regression model was used to analyze the continuous changes.

Results: There were 4,134,098 births recorded from 1997 to 2019, of which 50,646 noted the presence of congenital anomalies (incidence: 122.5 per 10,000). The incidence of congenital anomalies was found to have increased over time (P-trend <0.05). Congenital anomaly incidence in urban areas was higher than that in rural areas (155.3 per 10,000 vs 100.7 per 10,000; P < 0.001). Moreover, incidence was higher in males than in females (129.1 per 10,000 vs 112.9 per 10,000; P < 0.001). The incidence of neural tube defects significantly reduced from 1997 to 2019 (39.3 per 10,000 in 1997 vs 0.92 per 10,000 in 2019, P-trend <0.001), whereas the incidence of congenital heart disease (CHD) increased (5.56 per 10,000 in 2010 to 136.46 per 10,000 in 2019), which meant that CHD was the most common congenital anomaly post-2013.

Conclusion: In Henan province, the incidence of congenital anomalies increased by 115% from 1997 to 2019. Notably, the incidence of CHD is rising.

Keywords: Children health; Congenital anomalies; Congenital heart disease.