An epidemiological study of congenital malformations in rural children.
Children between 0-6 years of age from six villages of Ambala District were screened for congenital malformations. Of 1371 children, malformations were observed in 30 (prevalence 22/1000). Twenty children had major malformations and six had multiple anomalies. Cardiovascular malformations were the commonest (37%) followed by musculoskeletal (30%), gastrointestinal (23%), central nervous system (13%) and genitourinary anomalies (6.6%). An etiological factor (maternal rubella infection or drug exposure during early pregnancy) could be ascertained in only 3 cases. Traditional birth attendents (TBA) and Anganwadi workers (AWW) were helpful in identifying 95% of the cases with externally visible malformations in rural areas. In majority of cases no remedial measures were taken by the parents.
Kumar
V
V
Department of Pediatrics and Community Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.
Singh
A J
AJ
Marwaha
R K
RK
D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D017584:Reproductive History; D012423:Rural Health; D012424:Rural Population