Ethnical variations in the incidence of congenital heart defects in Gorgan, northern Iran: a single-center study

Congenital heart disease [CHD] is the most common congenital anomaly in newborns. This study was performed to determine the live birth incidence of CHD by ethnicity and sex in Gorgan, Northern Iran. In this longitudinal, hospital-based study, 18162 live births in Dezyani Hospital in Gorgan, North of Iran, were screened for CHD, from 2007 through 2009. Clinical examination, echocardiography, color Doppler, and cardio catheterization were used as diagnostic tools. Sex, ethnicity, and type of CHD for each case were recorded in a pre-designed questionnaire. The incidence rates of CHD in the native Fars, Sistani, and Turkmen subjects were 5.73 [95%CI: 4.53-7.15], 12.27 [95%CI: 8.74-16.73], and 15.93 [95%CI: 10.00-24.02] per 1000 live births, respectively. The Turkmen to native Fars and Sistani to native Fars relative risk for congenital CHD malformations was 2.77 [95%CI: 1.73-4.44; p value < 0.001] and 1.29 [95%CI: 0.77-2.18; p value < 0.323], respectively. While atrial septal defect was the most common lesion in the native Fars subjects [2.14 per 1000 [95%CI: 1.42-3.06]] and in the Sistani subjects [2.84 per 1000 [95%CI: 1.29-5.36]], in the Turkmen subjects, ventricular septal defect [4.36 per 1000 [95%CI: 1.59-9.43]], followed by atrial septal defect, was the most frequent lesion. This study showed that the incidence and pattern of CHD among live births in Gorgan, North of Iran, varied according to ethnicity. The risk of CHD was higher in the Turkmen and Sistani groups than in the Fars population

Prevalence and pattern of congenital heart disease among neonates in gorgan, Northern Iran [2007-2008]

Congenital heart disease [CHD] is the most common congenital anomaly in newborns. The aim of this longitudinal, hospital-based study was to evaluate the prevalence and pattern of CHD among Iranian newborns in Gorgan, Northern Iran. 11739 live births in Dezyani hospital in Gorgan were screened for CHD, 2007 through 2008. Clinical examination, echocardiography, color Doppler and cardio catheterization were used as diagnostic tools. Clinical and demographic factors, namely sex, type of CHD and associated anomalies of diagnosed cases were recorded in a pre-designed questionnaire for analysis. The overall prevalence rate of CHD was 8.6 per 1000 live births. This was 9.96 per 1000 male births and 7.34 per 1000 female births. It was 4.5 and 13.19 per 1000 in 2007 and 2008, respectively. ASD was the commonest lesion [2.64 per 1000], followed by VSD+ASD [1.28 per 1000] and PDA [1.28 per 1000]. The rate of ASD in male and female was 3.02 and 2.26 per 1000 respectively. Parents of 40 [39.6%] babies were related. 39 [38.6%] couples were first cousins. This study showed that the prevalence of CHD among live births in Gorgan is lower than reported in the studies for Middle East and European countries