title: Magnitude of Birth Defects in Central and Northwest Ethiopia from 2010-2014: A Descriptive Retrospective Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Birth defects are defined as structural and functional defects that develop during the organogenesis period and present at birth or detected later in life. They are one of the leading causes of infant and child mortality, morbidity, and long term disability. The magnitude of birth defects varies from country to country and from race/ethnicity to race/ethnicity, and about 40-60% of their causes are unknown. The known causes of birth defects are genetic and environmental factors which may be prevented. For various reasons, there is lack of data and research on birth defects in Ethiopia.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The major objective of this study is to estimate the magnitude of birth defects in Ethiopia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A hospital based, retrospective, cross sectional, descriptive study was conducted. The subjects were babies/children aged 0-17years who visited selected hospitals between 2010 and 2014. Fourteen hospitals (8 in Addis Ababa, 6 in Amhara Region) were selected purposively based on case load. A data retrieving form was developed to extract relevant information from record books.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the hospitals mentioned, 319,776 various medical records of children aged 0-17years were found. Of these, 6,076 (1.9% with 95% CI: 1.85%-1.95%) children were diagnosed as having birth defects. The majority (58.5%) of the children were male and 41.5% female. A slightly more than half (51.1%) of the children were urban dwellers, while 48.9% were from rural areas. Among the participants of the study the proportion of birth defects ranged as follows: orofacial (34.2%), neural tube (30.8%), upper and lower limb (12.8%), cardiovascular system (10.3%), digestive system and abdominal wall (4.8%), unspecified congenital malformations (2.5%), Down syndrome (2%), genitourinary system (2%), head, face, and neck defects (0.4%), and others (0.3%). The trend of birth defects increased linearly over time [Extended Mantel-Haenszel chi square for linear trend = 356.7 (P<0.0001)]. About 275 (4.5%) of the cases had multiple (associated) birth defects and 5,801 (95.5%) isolated (single) birth defects. Out of the total birth defects, 6,018 (99%) were major and 58 (1%) minor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The magnitude of birth defects increased from 2010-2014. Orofacial and neural tube defects contributed about two thirds of the birth defects. There is an urgent need for registry and surveillance system strategies for intervention and control of birth defects in Ethiopia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Molla
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taye
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Mekbeb
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Afework
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Wondwossen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fantaye
authors.affiliation: Internal medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, the University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Ermias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diro
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: Alemayehu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Worku
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018376:Cardiovascular Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D046688:Child Mortality; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000453:epidemiology; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies