Section V - Comparison of Selected Malformation Prevalence with Other Birth Defects Registries
Introduction to Table
The CMR relies on reports from hospitals and
physicians for case ascertainment. Underreporting is
an obvious concern, and the CMR monitors hospital
reporting and follows up if there appears to be
underreporting. In this section, CMR live birth
prevalence are compared with the prevalences of two
other registries, the Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital
Defects Program (MACDP)1 and the California Birth
Defects Monitoring Program (CBDMP)2. These two
registries send data collection specialists to hospitals
to identify and abstract records of children with
malformations. To help evaluate possible
underreporting, CMR prevalences of selected
malformations, defined using BPA codes, were
compared with prevalence from these two registries.
(See Appendix 4 for further information on these
BPA codes.) These two programs follow children
through one year of age. The CMR follows children
through two years; however, more than 95% of cases
are reported in the first year. Most of the
malformations in this table are recognized at birth.
The exceptions are fetal alcohol syndrome and some
cardiac malformations.
The most striking difference among the registries is
the low prevalence of anencephaly in New York
State. This probably is largely due to the inclusion
of stillborn infants in the MACDP and the CBDMP.
The CMR includes only live born children (see
Section VI, Current Topics). Underreporting is not
the only reason for possible differences. The
prevalences of some birth defects differ by race.
True geographic differences may also exist3.
Section V
Comparison of Selected Malformation Prevalence
with two other Birth Defects Registries |
MACDP
Code |
Malformation |
CMR
1995 |
MACDP4
1995 |
CBDMP4
1995 |
| A01 |
Anencephalus |
0.6 |
2.2 |
2.9 |
| A04 |
Spina bifida |
3.7 |
1.2 |
3.6 |
| A15 |
Hydrocephalus |
7.8 |
5.0 |
5.9 |
| A13 |
Encephalocele |
1.0 |
1.2 |
0.9 |
| A16 |
Microcephalus |
5.8 |
5.2 |
-.- |
| B01 |
An/Microphthalmos |
1.7 |
3.5 |
2.7 |
| D01 |
Common truncus |
0.7 |
0.7 |
1.1 |
| D02 |
Trans of great vessels |
4.8 |
4.7 |
4.6 |
| D03 |
Tetralogy of Fallot |
4.8 |
2.7 |
2.9 |
| D05 |
Ventricular septal defect |
34.5 |
21.6 |
14.8 |
| D26 |
Coarctation of aorta |
4.1 |
4.2 |
4.0 |
| E01 |
Choanal atresia |
1.0 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
| E06 |
Lung agenesis/hypoplasia |
3.6 |
4.5 |
-.- |
| F01 |
Cleft palate |
5.8 |
4.7 |
5.4 |
| F02 |
Cleft lip ± cleft palate |
7.7 |
9.9 |
10.9 |
| F09 |
Esophageal/tracheoesophageal atresia |
2.4 |
2.5 |
2.3 |
| F16 |
Rectal/large intestine atresia |
4.2 |
2.7 |
4.2 |
| F08 |
Pyloric stenosis |
16.6 |
7.7 |
14.2 |
| F17 |
Hirschsprung's disease |
1.8 |
1.2 |
1.7 |
| F21 |
Biliary atresia |
0.7 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
| H01 |
Renal agenesis/hypoplasia |
3.3 |
2.0 |
-.- |
| H08 |
Bladder exstrophy |
0.2 |
-.- |
0.3 |
| G02 |
Hypo/epispadias |
33.7 |
33.5 |
12.9 |
| K01 |
Reduct deform of upper limb |
3.0 |
4.2 |
3.1 |
| K02 |
Reduct deform of lower limb |
1.9 |
2.5 |
1.2 |
| N01 |
Diaphragmatic hernia |
2.0 |
1.5 |
2.7 |
| N02 |
Omphalocele |
1.2 |
1.5 |
1.8 |
| N04 |
Gastroschisis |
1.2 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
| R01 |
Down syndrome |
10.1 |
10.7 |
13.1 |
| R02 |
Trisomy 13 |
0.8 |
2.0 |
1.1 |
| R03 |
Trisomy 18 |
1.0 |
2.2 |
2.0 |
| S02 |
Fetal alcohol syndrome |
2.0 |
3.0 |
0.9 |
| K05 |
Amniotic bands |
0.3 |
1.0 |
1.6 |
References
- Edmonds LD, Layde PM, Levy JM, et al. Congenital malformations surveillance: two American systems. Inter J Epidemiol 1981; 10:247-251.
- Grether JK. New California program monitors birth defects. J Perinatology 1985; 5:8-10.
- Schulman J, Edmonds LD, McClern AB, et al. Surveillance for and comparison of birth defect prevelences in
two geographic areas - United States 1983-1988. In: CDC Surveillance Summaries; March 19, 1993. Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report 1993; 42(No. SS-1):1-7.
- Birth defects surveillance data from selected states, A report from the National Birth Defects Prevention Network. Teratology 1997; 56:115-175.
