Maternal age and the prevalence of congenital heart defects in Europe, 1995–2015: A register‐based study

Abstract

Background: Evidence on the direction and strength of association between maternal age and the prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHD) in different age group categories is conflicting. Some studies have illustrated different trends with an increase in prevalence in younger and older age groups while other studies have reported a linear relationship. Given the increase in maternal age over recent years, it is important to study the CHD prevalence by maternal age.Objectives: To examine the association between maternal age and the prevalence of CHD in Europe between 1995 and 2015 using population-based data from 24 registries belonging to the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT) network. Methods: Associations over time of all nonsyndromic CHD according to maternal age category and for three CHD severity groupings (severity group I: very severe; severity group II: severe; severity group III: less severe) were examined using Bayesian multilevel Poisson regression modeling. Further subgroup analyses were undertaken within four maternal age-bands: ≤24, 25-29, 30-34 and 35-44 years. Descriptive summaries are also presented.Results: There were 51,608 nonsyndromic CHD cases in Europe over the 20-year study period. Total prevalence for all CHD combined was increased for younger mothers (≤24 years) and for mothers 35-44 years of age when compared with mothers aged 25-29 years (reference group) (IRR: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.07). The total prevalence was increased for severity group I (very severe) only for younger mothers compared to those aged 25-29 years (IRR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.23). We found an increased prevalence of the following CHD sub-

Morbidity and mortality in premature or low birth weight patients with congenital heart disease in three European pediatric heart centers between 2016 and 2020

“…In our cohort, patients with simple CHD were born to the oldest mothers and, on the contrary, patients with severe CHD to the youngest mothers. The first finding is in line with other publications reporting an association of advanced maternal age with simple heart defects ( 23 , 24 ), where chromosomal anomalies are determined to be an underlying factor ( 23 , 25 , 26 ). Interestingly, young maternal age was associated with severe CHD.…”

“…Interestingly, young maternal age was associated with severe CHD. This was also found by Mamasoula et al (maternal age ≤24 years associated with severe CHD) (23), who discussed the possibility of socioeconomic factors, including poor diet, smoking, and alcohol or drug use as the etiology of severe CHD in this population. Nevertheless, the etiology of the association of severe CHD and young mothers with a mean age of 31 ± 5 years in our cohort remains unknown.…”

Neighborhood location and nutritional resources as a risk factor for congenital heart disease in the fetus

“…Similarly, the association between maternal age and CHD is incompletely understood. Recent meta‐analysis and registry‐based studies show a slight association between advanced maternal age and CHD (Mamasoula et al, 2023; Wu et al, 2022), though individual studies on maternal age show conflicting data (Best & Rankin, 2016; Miller et al, 2011). This study did not include individual‐level variables, such as maternal age, but focused on census‐tract level variable analysis.…”

Epidemiology of birth defects based on a birth defects surveillance system in southwestern China and the associated risk factors

“…Univariate and multivariate Poisson regressions are often applied to evaluate the association between the outcome variable and covariates, especially used to evaluate the temporal trends of BDs prevalence (22)(23)(24). In this study, the univariate Poisson regression was used to calculate the prevalence-rate ratios (PRR) and 95% CI of PRR to explore the changing trends of BDs prevalence by year and the regarding of characteristics of BDs, including infant gender (female as a reference), maternal age (20-24 years as a reference), and quarters (the fourth quarter as a reference).…”