title: A population-based birth defects surveillance system in the People's Republic of China.
abstract: We describe a unique birth defects surveillance system in the People's Republic of China. The system was instituted in March 1992 as a component of an evaluation of the effectiveness of a public health campaign using periconceptional folic acid supplementation to prevent neural tube defects, and currently surveys birth cohorts of approximately 150 000 infants per year. Local health care providers collect information in the form of detailed written descriptions and photographs of affected infants. The system allows for detection of birth defects at the local level with later definitive classification and coding; however, information is limited to structural anomalies that are visible on physical examination. This birth defects surveillance system provides an extensive database of infants with major and minor external structural anomalies, including the unique feature of a photographic record for most cases. These data can be used for aetiological studies, descriptive epidemiology and identification of unusual trends.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Maternal and Infant Health, Peking University Health Science Centre (formerly Beijing Medical University), Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Zhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gindler
authors.forename: Shi-Xin
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Yecai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mulinare
authors.forename: Lee-Yang
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Hai-Qin
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Erickson
mesh_terms: D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003625:Data Collection; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010781:Photography; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D011786:Quality Control; D012042:Registries / Q000592:standards