Abstract
A 1-year birth cohort from northern Finland comprised 12,058 children, 96% of all live-born infants born in the region in 1966. The development and morbidity of these children were followed up to the age of 14 years. Altogether, 40 children (25 boys and 15 girls) 3.32 per 1,000 suffered from congenital malformations of the central nervous system (CNS). Fourteen (1.16) had spina bifida cystica, 17 (1.41) hydrocephalus, and 9 (0.75) miscellaneous other malformations. Altogether, 14 children died during the follow-up period, giving a prevalence of 2.21 per 1,000 at 14 years. Additional neurological handicaps, mental retardation, cerebral palsy or epilepsy were present in 23 children, 13 of whom had multiple handicaps. Of these children 26% were able to attend an ordinary school in the class appropriate for their age. It is concluded that the incidences for CNS malformations obtained in this study are very much higher than those reported in the Finnish Register of Congenital Malformations, but correspond very well to the figures obtained in the British 1958 birth cohort, which was studied in an analogous way.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cole S (1983) Evaluation of neonatal discharge record as a monitor of congenital malformations. Community Med 5:21–30
Davie R, Butler N, Goldstein H (1972) From birth to seven. The second report of the National Child Development study (1958 cohort). Longman, London
Hakosalo J (1973) Cumulative detection rates of congenital malformations in a ten-year follow-up study. Acta Pathol Microbiol Immunol Scand [Suppl] 242:1–96
Jorde L, Fineman R, Martin R (1984) Epidemiology of neural tube defects in Utah, 1940–1979. Am J Epidemiol 119:487–495
Knox E, Armstrong E, Lancashire R (1984) The quality of notification of congenital malformations. J Epidemiol Community Health 38:296–305
Koch M, Fuhrmann W (1984) Epidemiology of neural tube defects in Germany. Hum Genet 68:97–103
Lindy M (1982) Spina bifida cystica in Finland 1963–1972. Incidence and prognosis (in Finnish). Thesis, Helsinki
McIntosh R, Merritt K, Richards M, Samuels M, Bellows M (1954) The incidence of congenital malformations: a study of 5,964 pregnancies. Pediatrics 14:505–521
Rantakallio P (1969) Groups at risk in low birth weight infants and perinatal mortality. Acta Paediatr Scand [Suppl] 193:1–71
Rantakallio P, Mäkinen H (1984) Number of teeth at the age of one year in relation to maternal smoking. Ann Hum Biol 11:45–52
Rantakallio P, von Wendt L (1986) Mental retardation and subnormality in a birth cohort of 12,000 children in northern Finland. Am J Ment Defic (in press)
Saxen L (1983) Twenty years of study of the etiology of congenital malformations in Finland. Issues Rev Teratol 1:73–109
Stein S, Feldman J, Apfel S, Kohl S, Casey G (1981) The epidemiology of congenital hydrocephalus. A study in Brooklyn, NY, 1968–1976. Child's Brain 8:253–262
von Wendt L, Rantakallio P, Saukkonen A-L, Mäkinen H (1985) Epilepsy and associated handicaps in a one-year birth cohort of northern Finland. Eur J Pediatr 144:149–151
von Wendt L, Rantakallio P, Saukkonen A-L, Mäkinen H (1985) Cerebral palsy and additional handicaps in a one-year birth cohort from northern Finland — a prospective follow-up study. Ann Clin Res 17:156–161
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
von Wendt, L., Rantakallio, P. Congenital malformations of the central nervous system in a 1-year birth cohort followed to the age of 14 years. Child's Nerv Syst 2, 80–82 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00286225
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00286225