Rate of infant deaths attributed to birth defects declines by 10% in US
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The birth defect-related infant mortality rate in the United States declined by 10% from 2003 to 2017, according to data published in MMWR.
“Pediatricians and other health care professionals in the field are on the front lines of helping care for infants with birth defects,” Lynn M. Almli, PhD, a health scientist in the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, told Healio. “Early detection of birth defects and optimal treatment of affected children are essential in reducing deaths in the first year of life.”
Almli and colleagues obtained linked birth and death records for infants aged 1 year or younger born to U.S. residents via the National Vital Statistics System, and used the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision to determine deaths with major birth defects indicated as the underlying cause of death. They excluded cardiovascular conditions not considered to be structural heart defects, undescended testicles and preterm births with an underlying cause of death considered to be a complication of prematurity as causes of birth defect-related infant mortality.
They identified 3,998,383 infant births in 2003 and 3,809,747 in 2017. From 2003 to 2017, the total cases of infant mortality attributable to birth defects dropped from 4,897 to 4,186 — a decrease in infant mortality attributable to birth defects of around 10%, from 12.2 per 10,000 live births (95% CI, 11.9–12.6) to 11.0 per 10,000 live births (95% CI, 10.7–11.3). Birth defect-related infant mortality also dropped by 4% for infants of Hispanic mothers, 11% for infants of non-Hispanic black mothers and 12% for infants of non-Hispanic white mothers during the same time period.
Although the report did not address the underlying factors behind the decline in birth defect-related deaths, Almli cited efforts to prevent birth defects, earlier diagnosis, improvements in prenatal care and improvements in medical care of infants with birth defects as potential driving factors.
“Infant mortality due to birth defects may be underestimated because only the underlying cause of death was used, which didn’t include mortality from birth defects as a contributing cause of death,” Almli said. “In future analyses, we plan to look at specific birth defects as either underlying or contributing causes of death.” – by Eamon Dreisbach
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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