Epidemiological investigation of congenital heart diseases among children during the years 2016 to 2021

Abstract

Background: Congenital heart disease is a type of birth defect that affects about 1% of babies born each year and is the leading cause of death in infancy that is diagnosed at birth or later in life. Due to the high importance of this issue and high mortality and morbidity, the aim of this study was epidemiological investigation of congenital heart diseases in children during 2016 to 2021. Methods: In this cross-sectional analytical study, all children admitted to Bo Ali Hospital in Ardabil with primary diagnosis of congenital heart disease or secondary diagnosis during hospitalization along with all children referred to the clinic of this hospital with diagnosis of congenital heart disease were included in the study. Results: A total of 449 children with congenital heart disease were included in the study. 235 cases (52.33%) were boys, 35 cases (7.79%) had diabetic mothers and 12 cases (2.6%) had obese mothers. 20 cases (4.4%) were the result of multiple pregnancy and 31 cases (6.9%) were preterm. Significantly, preterm birth was more in children with cyanotic disease (p=0.036) and multiple births and maternal diabetes and aneuploidy were more in children with cyanotic disease compared to Asianotic children (p value equal to 0.008 respectively and 0.001 and 0.001). Conclusions: The frequency of congenital heart diseases, gender composition and related risk factors such as preterm birth and maternal diabetes were aligned and similar to domestic and foreign studies. Maternal diabetes and preterm birth can be considered as risk factors for congenital heart diseases.