Increase in incidence of gastroschisis in the South West of England in 1995

Abstract

Objective To describe the incidence of gastroschisis and to identify possible aetiological factors.Design A retrospective case review study. SettingThe South West Region of England.Population All known cases of gastroschisis were identified from the regional fetal medicine, ultrasound, pathology and neonatal surgery databases. Datasets to be collected were agreed prospectively and included demographic, past medical, family and obstetric information for all pregnancies conceived between January 1987 and December 1995. ResultsIn the first eight years the incidence was 1.61 10,000 but in 1995 a highly statistically significant rise to 4.4/ 10,000 was found (P = 0.0009). The increased incidence was not associated with changes in maternal age, proportion of primigravidae, use of tobacco or illicit drugs, conception while taking the oral contraceptive pill, or an increase in the number of teenage pregnancies. The median maternal age at last menstrual period for pregnancies with gastroschisis was 20-4 years which was much younger than the national average of 28 years. Thirty-seven percent of these conceptions occurred during the first quarter of the year compared with the expected 25%.Conclusions The incidence of gastroschisis has risen to a higher level than previously reported which, despite a marked association with young maternal age at conception, is not due to an increase in the teenage pregnancy rate. As the average length of inpatient stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for cases with this malformation is approximately four weeks, the rise has considerable cost implications. The increasing incidence may also offer opportunities to determine the cause of gastroschisis.

Omphalocele and gastroschisis: An 18-year review study

“…There were no mothers 40 years or older in the gastroschisis group. In an earlier study, 17 the mean maternal age was 20.4 years for gastroschisis, as compared to 28.0 years for the general population. Boyd et al 18 also found younger mothers in their gastroschisis group.…”

Malformaciones congénitas en Chile y Latino América: Una visión epidemiológica del ECLAMC del período 1995-2008

“…Sabemos que hay factores ambientales, genéticos y étnicos, además de la edad materna, que pueden dar alguna luz al respecto y que son muy diferentes en los países sudamericanos, como lo vimos en el párrafo anterior. Es sabido que gastrosquisis se presenta con mayor frecuencia en hijos de madres adolescentes [5][6][7] ; pues bien, esta anomalía se presentó con signifi cativa mayor frecuencia en Brasil y Colombia, países que tienen la mayor proporción de madres de 20 años y menores de esa edad. Chile tiene la tasa más alta de síndrome de Down (24,7 por 10.000) y es el país con el porcentaje más alto de mujeres de 35 años y más.…”

Recreational Drug Use: A Major Risk Factor for Gastroschisis?

“…This was significantly lower than for the total births over this period: 26.8 years in 1987period: 26.8 years in and 28.0 years in 1993period: 26.8 years in (OPCS, 1987period: 26.8 years in -1993. Data from the South West of England (Penman et al 1998) from 1987 to 1995 demonstrated an eleven-fold increase in the risk associated with gastroschisis for mothers conceiving before the age of 20 years compared with those aged 20 years or more at conception. A similar risk was found in Western Australia (Nichols et al 1997) where 15 to 19 year old mothers had ten times the prevalence of gastroschisis compared to mothers aged 25 to 29 years.…”

“…1993); (Tan et al 1996); (Penman et al 1998); (Goldbaum et al 1990); (Werler et al 1992a). Analysis of data from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (now ONS) national congenital anomalies notification system (NCAS) for England and Wales over the period 1987 to 1993 showed that the median age for mothers of gastroschisis cases was 21.0 years (inter-quartile range: 19 to 25).…”