title: Prevalence of neural tube defects in a rural area of north india from 2001 to 2014: A population-based survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neural tube defects (NTDs) are one of the commonest birth defects. There was paucity of community-based data on occurrence of NTDs in India, especially from rural parts of the country. Against this background, the current study was carried out with main objectives to determine the prevalence of NTDs and its specific types (anencephaly, spina bifida and encephalocele) in a rural community setting over the time period 2001 to 2014.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a community-based cross-sectional study carried out in 28 villages of Ballabgarh Tehsil of Faridabad district in north India (population ∼ 96,000). A household survey was undertaken by trained multi-purpose workers who enquired ever-married women about history of conception with outcome as NTD during the study period. The probable case of NTD was determined using a colored pictorial card with photographs of different types of NTDs. These cases were confirmed by doctors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 26,946 live births occurred during the years 2001 to 2014. A total of 140 confirmed cases of NTDs were identified. The live birth prevalence of NTDs was 24.1 per 10,000 live births (95% confidence interval, 18.8-30.6). The birth prevalence of NTDs for the years 2008 to 2014 was 50.8 (95% confidence interval, 39.9-63.8) per 10,000 live and stillbirths. The most common type of NTD was found to be spina bifida followed by anencephaly and encephalocele.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found high prevalence of NTDs in rural community settings from north India for years 2001 to 2014.Birth Defects Research 109:203-210, 2017.© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project, Ballabgarh (CRHSP-B), Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Shashi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kant
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project, Ballabgarh (CRHSP-B), Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Sumit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project, Ballabgarh (CRHSP-B), Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Arvind Kumar
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project, Ballabgarh (CRHSP-B), Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Partha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Haldar
authors.affiliation: Comprehensive Rural Health Services Project, Ballabgarh (CRHSP-B), Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Ravneet
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.affiliation: Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Puneet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Misra
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Neerja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000757:Anencephaly / Q000453:epidemiology; D018672:Community Health Planning; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies / Q000379:methods; D004677:Encephalocele / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D050498:Live Birth / Q000453:epidemiology; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000453:epidemiology; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Ballabgarh; India; community; neural tube defects; prevalence; rural