title: Rare chromosome abnormalities, prevalence and prenatal diagnosis rates from population-based congenital anomaly registers in Europe.
abstract: The aim of this study is to quantify the prevalence and types of rare chromosome abnormalities (RCAs) in Europe for 2000-2006 inclusive, and to describe prenatal diagnosis rates and pregnancy outcome. Data held by the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies database were analysed on all the cases from 16 population-based registries in 11 European countries diagnosed prenatally or before 1 year of age, and delivered between 2000 and 2006. Cases were all unbalanced chromosome abnormalities and included live births, fetal deaths from 20 weeks gestation and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly. There were 10,323 cases with a chromosome abnormality, giving a total birth prevalence rate of 43.8/10,000 births. Of these, 7335 cases had trisomy 21,18 or 13, giving individual prevalence rates of 23.0, 5.9 and 2.3/10,000 births, respectively (53, 13 and 5% of all reported chromosome errors, respectively). In all, 473 cases (5%) had a sex chromosome trisomy, and 778 (8%) had 45,X, giving prevalence rates of 2.0 and 3.3/10,000 births, respectively. There were 1,737 RCA cases (17%), giving a prevalence of 7.4/10,000 births. These included triploidy, other trisomies, marker chromosomes, unbalanced translocations, deletions and duplications. There was a wide variation between the registers in both the overall prenatal diagnosis rate of RCA, an average of 65% (range 5-92%) and the prevalence of RCA (range 2.4-12.9/10,000 births). In all, 49% were liveborn. The data provide the prevalence of families currently requiring specialised genetic counselling services in the perinatal period for these conditions and, for some, long-term care.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton and Wessex Clinical Genetics Service, Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton, UK. dgw@soton.ac.uk
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wellesley
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dolk
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greenlees
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haeusler
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nelen
authors.forename: Ester
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garne
authors.forename: Babak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Khoshnood
authors.forename: Berenice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Doray
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rissmann
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mullaney
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Calzolari
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bakker
authors.forename: Joaquin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salvador
authors.forename: Marie-Claude
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Addor
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Draper
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rankin
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tucker
mesh_terms: D000015:Abnormalities, Multiple / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D025063:Chromosome Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D002882:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 13 / Q000235:genetics; D002887:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 / Q000235:genetics; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D014314:Trisomy / Q000235:genetics; D000073839:Trisomy 13 Syndrome