Published online September 1, 2007
PEDIATRICS Vol. 120 Supplement September 2007, pp. S71-S77 (doi:10.1542/10.1542/peds.2007-1010F)
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Romitti, P. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Romitti, P. A.
Related Collections
Right arrow Office Practice
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE


Utility of Family History Reports of Major Birth Defects as a Public Health Strategy

Paul A. Romitti, PhD

Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

A major birth defect is an abnormality that can affect the structure or function of an organ. In the United States, major birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality and contribute substantially to childhood disability and morbidity. Globally, these conditions lead to the death of millions of infants and children annually. Patients with 1 or more affected family members may be at increased risk for having a child with a major birth defect; thus, accurate knowledge of these conditions among family members of their patients gives the clinician the ability to provide improved risk assessment and reproductive planning. Such knowledge can also serve as motivation for patients to adhere to healthy behaviors such as folic acid use or smoking cessation. To evaluate the utility of collecting family history reports of major birth defects as a public health strategy, 6 key criteria were examined by reviewing the relevant published literature. Overall, the review showed that major birth defects satisfied several of the criteria. Additional research is needed, however, regarding the awareness of parent reports of the occurrence of these conditions among relatives and how knowledge of birth defect diagnoses and related risk factors are transmitted among relatives. Such research needs to encompass not only immediate family members but also other first-degree and second-degree relatives. In summary, routine collection of family history reports of birth defects in pediatric practice holds promise as a public health strategy to reduce the burden of morbidity, mortality, and disability associated with major birth defects.

Key Words: birth defects • family history • genetics • pediatrics • public health

Abbreviations: CL—cleft lip • CP—cleft palate • ICD-9-CM—International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification • BPA—British Paediatric Association • OR—odds ratio • CI—confidence interval • IRCID—Iowa Registry for Congenital and Inherited Disorders

Accepted May 16, 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?