Time trends in the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of neural tube defects in Liaoning Province, China, 2006-2015: A population-based study.
To evaluate the time trends in the prevalence of neural tube defects and all their subtypes as well as to identify the epidemiological characteristics of these malformations documented in the Liaoning Province of northeast China from 2006 to 2015. This was a population-based observational study using data from 3,248,954 live births as well as from 6217 cases of neural tube defects, 1,600 cases of anencephaly, 2,029 cases of spina bifida, 404 cases of encephalocele, and 3,008 cases of congenital hydrocephalus from 14 cities in Liaoning Province from 2006 to 2015. All analyses were conducted using SPSS software. During the observational period, the prevalence of neural tube defects, anencephaly, spina bifida, encephalocele, and congenital hydrocephalus was 19.1, 4.9, 6.2, 1.2, and 9.3 per 10,000 live births, respectively. Significantly decreasing trends were observed in the prevalence of all these malformations except for encephalocele. Notably, relatively higher prevalence rates were found in isolated compared with non-isolated malformations, with significant differences in selected characteristics (e.g., prognosis status, gestational age, and birth weight) between isolated and non-isolated cases of these malformations. The prevalence of neural tube defects showed a downward trend in Liaoning Province from 2006 to 2015. However, more attention should be focused on non-isolated cases in the future because of the severe clinical manifestations. Future prevention efforts should be strengthened to reduce the risk of these malformations, especially the non-isolated subtype, in areas with high prevalence.
Department of Pediatrics, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Tie-Ning
TN
Zhang
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Ting-Ting
TT
Gong
Liaoning Women and Children's Health Hospital, Shenyang, China.
Yan-Ling
YL
Chen
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Qi-Jun
QJ
Wu
Department of Emergency, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Yuan
Y
Zhang
School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shenyang Ligong University, Shenyang, China.
Cheng-Zhi
CZ
Jiang
Department of Science and Education, Shenyang Women and Children Health Care Centre, Shenyang, China.
Jing
J
Li
Department of Children's Health Prevention, Shenyang Women and Children Health Care Centre, Shenyang, China.
Li-Li
LL
Li
Department of Information Statistics, Shenyang Women and Children Health Care Centre, Shenyang, China.
Chen
C
Zhou
Department of Science and Education, Shenyang Women and Children Health Care Centre, Shenyang, China.
Yan-Hong
YH
Huang
D000328:Adult; D000757:Anencephaly / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D044466:Asian People; D001724:Birth Weight; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004677:Encephalocele / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology
epidemiology; neural tube defects; perinatal; prevalence; time trend