Incidence of Orofacial Clefts in the Slovak Republic

Abstract

Orofacial clefts (OC) are quite common congenital defects. Retrospective active survey collecting clinical data of children with OC examined and operated on in the three main specialized departments of plastic surgery in the Slovak Republic over 16 years (1985-2000) revealed total incidence of 1.61/10(3) live births (LB). 1,849 children suffering from OC were recognised out of 1,147,236 live births. Total incidence (TI) of OC per 1,000 live births was determined by types, gender, regions, districts and seasonal variation. The highest rate, 40.5% of clefts, affected the primary and secondary palate (CLP), more than 32% were of cleft palate type (CP), about 26% cleft lip (CL) and about 1% of associated malformations (AM). Clefts in males (1.71/10(3) LB) were significantly more common than in females (1.50/10(3) LB), sex ratio 1.14:1. Morbidity rates (TI) varies from 1.29/10(3) LB in the east Slovakia to the highest incidence of 1.93/10(3) LB in the middle Slovakia with wide range by district. Comparing data from the study and from the national register, 17% of children with OC were missed. Presented survey assessed risk of OC in Slovakia at the rate 1 newborn with OC per 620 LB compared with notified frequency of 1 OC per 745 LB.