[Birth defects in the Czech Republic in 1994--2007].

AIM OF STUDY: An analysis of occurrence of birth defects in the Czech Republic in 1994-2007. An assessment of total numbers and relative incidences of birth defects in births according to Tenth Revision of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).

TYPE OF STUDY: Retrospective epidemiological analysis of birth defects incidences from the Czech National Birth Defects Register database.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from the National Birth Defects Register (Institute for Health Information and Statistics) in the Czech Republic in the 1994-2007 period were used. In this study, particular diagnoses--as they were registered in the National Register--were analyzed. The diagnoses in study were divided into following eleven birth defects groups according to ICD-10 classification: (Q00-Q07) nervous system, (Q10-Q18) eye, ear, face and neck, (Q20-Q28) circulatory system, (Q30-Q34) respiratory system, (Q35-Q37) cleft lip and cleft palate, (Q38-Q45) digestive system, (Q50-Q56) genital organs, (Q60-Q64) urinary system, (Q65-Q79) musculoskeletal system, (Q80-Q89) other defects and (Q90-Q99) chromosomal abnormalities, not elsewhere classified. Prenataly diagnosed cases are not included.

RESULTS: During 1994-2007 period, totally 1,353,040 children were born on the area of the Czech Republic, out of which 44,343 with a birth defect. The diagoses in study were divided into eleven groups according to ICD-10 classification. Further, particular diagnoses according to ICD-10 and their verbal descriptions are presented in tables. Each group is accompanied by data on its total number and a relative incidence (per 10,000 live births) with a 95% C.I.. A relative frequency of the birth defects groups in study (in % from the total number of birth defects) is as follows: (Q00-Q07) nervous system 2.10, (Q10-Q18) eye, ear, face and neck 4.76, (Q20-Q28) circulatory system 39.63, (Q30-Q34) respiratory system 1.03, (Q35-Q37) cleft lip and cleft palate 3.67, (Q38-Q45) digestive system 4.05, (Q50-Q56) genital organs 10.93, (Q60-Q64) urinary system 7.08, (Q65-Q79) musculoskeletal system 18.90, (Q80-Q89) other defects 5.55 and (Q90-Q99) chromosomal abnormalities 2.28.

CONCLUSIONS: The study gives updated results of incidences analysis of postnatally diagnosed birth defects (available on the date of August 31, 2008) in the Czech Republic in the 1994-2007 period. Data on birth defects were collected in the National Birth Defects Register (Institute for Health Information and Statistics). Birth defects registration is a compulsory process and is a part of the National Health Information System. The diagnoses in study were divided into eleven groups according to ICD-10 classification. Total numbers, relative incidences (per 10 000 live births, with a 95% C.I.) and relative frequencies of the birth defects groups are presented.