caa a22 4500 388116498 CHVBK 20180307125408.0 cr unu---uuuuu 161130e199903 xx s 000 0 eng 10.1017/S1047951100008362 doi S1047951100008362 pii (NATIONALLICENCE)cambridge-10.1017/S1047951100008362 Regional differnces in birth prevalence of congenital heart disease in Malta [Elektronische Daten] Abstract Aim Recent studies have shown a correlation between environmental pollutants and increased risk of selected congenital malformations. The South-East area of the Island of Malta is much more industrialised than the more rural North-West area. The aim of this study was to test the null hypothesis that there are no regional differences in Malta in the prevalence at birth of congenital cardiac malformations. Methods: Live born infants with congenital cardiac malformations born between 1990 and 1994 were allocated to 10 areas, and thence to 2 regions of 5 areas each, so as to constitute North-West and South-East Malta. Official publications gave population totals and growth rates. Those infants with congenital cardiac malformations were then compared between the different regions using χ2 and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results The overall prevalence of congenital heart disease at birth was 8.8/1000 live births. The birth prevalence for the South-East region (10.1/1000 LB - 95% CI 8.4-12.3/1000 live births) was significantly higher than for the North-West (7.4/1000 live births - 95% CI 6.0-9.0/1000 live births) - p=0.03, Odds ratio 1.38 (95% CI 1.05-2.61). The Mann-Whitney U test showed a significant difference in the distribution amongst the 10 defined areas (p=0.016). The Central-East area had the highest prevalence of cardiac malformations in the entire Island - p=0.02, Odds ratio 1.70 (95% CI 1.10-2.61). Demography showed an efflux of individuals from the South-East of Malta. Conclusion The higher prevalence of congenital heart disease noted at birth in South-East Malta is unlikely to be due to genetic factors, as these would have migrated North-West along with the population movement. An environmental factor, therefore, seems more likely to be responsible for the increased predisposition to congenital heart disease in the South-East of Malta. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1999 Heart defects-congenital nationallicence heart defects-congenital-epidemiology nationallicence residence characteristics nationallicence pregnancy nationallicence Grech Victor St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, Department of Health Information, Malta Agius-Muscat Hugo St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, Department of Health Information, Malta Savona-Ventura Charles St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, Department of Health Information, Malta Pace Joe St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, Department of Health Information, Malta Cardiology in the Young Cambridge University Press 9/2(1999-03), 150-154 1047-9511 9:2<150 1999 9 CTY https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047951100008362 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047951100008362 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Grech Victor St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, Department of Health Information, Malta NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Agius-Muscat Hugo St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, Department of Health Information, Malta NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Savona-Ventura Charles St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, Department of Health Information, Malta NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Pace Joe St Luke's Hospital, Guardamangia, Department of Health Information, Malta NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Cardiology in the Young Cambridge University Press 9/2(1999-03), 150-154 1047-9511 9:2<150 1999 9 CTY CC0 http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0 nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-cambridge