Patterns of occurrence and management abilities of birth defects: A study from a highly urbanized coastal district of India

Abstract

BackgroundThe present study was aimed to find out the patterns of occurrence and management abilities of Birth Defects (BDs) in Visakhapatnam, one of the north coastal district of Andhra Pradesh, India during a span of five years. MethodsA cross-sectional investigation was held at District Early Intervention Center (DEIC), Visakhapatnam from 2016 to 2020. To identify the pattern and trend of different BDs including seasonal variations, a retrospective analysis of the health center's inpatient database for the past 5 years was done. Male and female children aged 2 months-18 years are included in the study with the prior permission of the concerned medical officer. The screening tool developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, was used for the study. ResultsAmong 26,423 cases, children with birth defects (BDs) are 962, 2229 with deficiencies, 7516 with diseases, and 15716 with Developmental Delays (DDs) & Disabilities were admitted during the study period. From birth defects, congenital deafness occurred in large numbers with 22.66%, and neural tube defect observed in a small number of cases with 0.83% during the period. From the side of deficiencies, severe acute malnutrition has mostly occurred (66.80%) and a small number of children were affected with goiter (1.70%). ConclusionThrough this study, it is observed that the incidence of birth defects, as well as genetic disease burden, is high in the Visakhapatnam district. Hence there is a need for strengthening of management services for these diseases in this region.