title: Investigation of the frequencies of prenatally diagnosed fetal chromosomal abnormalities at a single institution.
abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate, retrospectively, the frequencies of fetal chromosomal abnormalities identified in 4176 prenatal cytogenetic examinations at the Xiamen Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital over the 5-year period from October 2005 to September 2010. The frequency of abnormal fetal karyotypes was 4.6%. Numerical chromosome abnormalities were identified in 150 cases. The frequency of trisomy 21 was by far the highest, followed by trisomy 18. Structural aberrations of chromosomes were identified in 43 cases, including 21 cases with balanced and 22 cases with unbalanced chromosomal aberrations. In addition, 16 cases of apparently de novo chromosomal aberrations and 27 cases of familial inheritances were observed. Increased awareness of the frequencies of fetal chromosome abnormalities is important for the improvement of prenatal care and providing the options of termination or continuation of the pregnancy. Data obtained in this study provide the basis of a database for genetic counseling.
authors.affiliation: Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Xiamen's Maternal & Child Health Care Hospital, Xiamen, China. wuqcwu@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Qichang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Wenbo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yunsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Yasong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D059786:Abnormal Karyotype / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D025063:Chromosome Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020732:Cytogenetic Analysis; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies