Increased prevalence of congenital anomalies in live births in Brazil in the last 20 years
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2176-7262.rmrp.2025.216823Keywords:
Congenital abnormalities, Maternal age, PrevalenceAbstract
This article analyzes the prevalence of congenital anomalies in live births in Brazil, as well as indicating possible associated gestational and maternal conditions. An ecological analytical study was carried out from the database of the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System. The information from the period between 2001 and 2020, which included records of 426,754 live births with at least one congenital anomaly, was analyzed. There was a consistent and gradual increase in the prevalence of congenital anomalies in live births in Brazil, from 56 (95% CI:55-57) per 10,000 births in 2001 to 88 (95% CI: 87-89) in 2020. Moreover, all macro-regions of the country experienced an increase. The most common malformations occurred in the musculoskeletal system, nervous system and genitourinary system. It was observed that in 2001, 12% of live births with congenital anomalies had mothers older than 35 years, while in 2020 this percentage was 23%. In conclusion, besides the likely improvement in the completion of the Statements of Live Births over the years, the increase in births from late pregnancies contributed to the rise in the prevalence of birth defects in the first two decades of the 21st century in Brazil.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Francisco Caio Cavalcante Lima Duarte, José Diego Silva Alves, Marcos Leandro de Matos, Lucileide da Silva Santos, Udson Santos, Bartolomeu Torres Pereira, Estelita Lima Cândido
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