Congenital Malformations: A Prevalence Study In The City Of Sousa, ParaÍBa, Between 2012 And 2014

Congenital malformations, also called Congenital Anomalies (CA) or birth defects are morphological and/or functional changes evident at birth or that are manifested at later stages of life. The origin of most CA is still unknown, but the causes may be related to genetic and environmental factors. OBJETIVE: Identify the prevalence of congenital malformations in the city of Sousa, Paraiba, between 2012 and 2014. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted in the city of Sousa, Paraiba, Brazil, based on data extracted from the Computing Department of the Unified Health System (DATASUS) and the Live Birth declarations (DNVs) supplied by the Department of Epidemiological Surveillance of the Municipal Secretary of Health from the above-mentioned city. Data were tabulated in Microsoft Office Excel 2013 software. Furthermore, a database in SPSS (version 21) was built. We used descriptive analysis of frequency and percentage and as inferential technique, we used logistic regression and the level of statistical significance set at 5% with 95% confidence intervals for each independent variable analyzed. RESULTS: It was evident that there was a prevalence of 0.48% of Congenital Malformations cases. Among the abnormalities, the most frequent were the ones in the osteomuscular system (35.7%), followed by abnormalities of the nervous system (28.6%). The groups that showed statistical significance in relation to the presence of abnormality were: considered late mothers and had an odds ratio of 5.50, mothers who had a gestational age lower than 37 weeks who showed an odds ratio of 4.21 and with relation to the Apgar score of below 7 with 5.70 chances of occurrence of the event. Male newborns, cesarean delivery and babies with normal weight, were predominant in the study, presented as 54.5%, 81.8% and 90%, respectively. Taking into account the following parameters: mothers with adequate number of prenatal consultations, well-educated and married were most affected by the event. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of malformations in the city of Sousa, PB, Brazil decreased between the years of 2012 and 2014, however, the study shows data that is relevant to public health, for the reorientation of health practices and decision making in health after the identification of the relationship of occurrence of these malformations and some variables, such as maternal age, gestational age and Apgar score.