title: Prevalence and trends of selected congenital malformations in New York State, 1983 to 2007.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Major birth defects result in high infant mortality and morbidity. It is important to evaluate the burden of birth defects and trends for future intervention and public health improvement. Using the New York State (NYS) Congenital Malformations Registry data, we examined the prevalence and trends of birth defects among children in NYS during 25 years of surveillance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children who had any of the 21 selected birth defects and were born to NYS residents between 1983 and 2007 were selected. The prevalence of each defect was characterized by demographic and birth factors, and the prevalence ratio was calculated. Live births of NYS residents for the same birth year period were used as the denominators for calculating the prevalence. The prevalence trends of birth defects were analyzed by maternal age and race/ethnicity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with non-Hispanic whites, we detected 33%, 21%, and 37% higher prevalence of encephalocele, lower limb deficiencies and omphalocele among non-Hispanic blacks, respectively, and 22% higher prevalence of gastroschisis among Hispanics. Increasing trends of gastroschisis and Down syndrome among non-Hispanic blacks and decreasing trends of spina bifida and limb deficiencies were observed in NYS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from this study suggest the existence of racial disparities among children with selected birth defects in NYS. The increasing trends of gastroschisis and Down syndrome observed in NYS are consistent with nationwide trends.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, One University Place, Rensselaer, New York.
authors.forename: Keewan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Russell S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.forename: Charlotte M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Druschel
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D004677:Encephalocele / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D020139:Gastroschisis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D006554:Hernia, Umbilical / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D050498:Live Birth / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D038061:Lower Extremity Deformities, Congenital / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People
keywords: birth defects; birth defects prevalence; cohort study; congenital malformations registry; long-term trends