Prevalence of spina bifida among children and adolescents in metropolitan Atlanta.
BACKGROUND
Although studies have examined the prevalence of spina bifida (SB) among births, little is known about the SB prevalence among children and adolescents. We estimated the prevalence of SB among children and adolescents in metropolitan Atlanta.


METHODS
This study used data from a population-based registry of birth defects, with information on children with SB (cases) born in five Atlanta counties from 1979-2002. The population at risk was derived from United States Census data and variations in SB prevalence were examined by race/ethnicity, sex, lesion level, age group under 20 years, 4-year birth cohort, and time period using Poisson regression.


RESULTS
From 1979 to 2002, SB birth prevalence decreased from 6.3 to 3.2 per 10,000 live births (p < 0.001) and SB prevalence within each age group also declined. In 2002, there were 211 children 0-19 years old surviving with SB in Atlanta (2.4 per 10,000 children 0-19 years old); prevalence of SB was higher among non-Hispanic whites and among children with lumbosacral lesion but did not vary by sex. With the exception of the most recent birth cohort (1998-2002), within each 4-year birth cohort, the prevalence of SB was generally higher among non-Hispanic whites than among non-Hispanic blacks.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides minimum prevalence estimates among children and adolescents with SB in metropolitan Atlanta, and identifies race/ethnic disparities in such prevalence estimates. This information could be useful for assessing the specialized health care needs for children with SB and the possible reasons for the racial/ethnic variation in prevalence of SB.
Shin
Mikyong
M
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. mshin@cdc.gov
Besser
Lilah M
LM
Correa
Adolfo
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001723:Birth Rate; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult; D001741:Black or African American