Prevalence of congenital heart defects in Europe, 2008-2015: A registry-based study

Background: The total prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHDs) variesby populations and over time. Studies that examine trends in the prevalence ofCHD in different regions may shed light on our understanding of the occur-rence of CHD and the impact of different risk factors.Objectives: To examine trends in total and live birth prevalence of nonsyndro-mic CHD in Europe between the years 2008 and 2015 and to investigate if thedecreasing trend reported by previous studies is continuing.Methods: Cases of CHD delivered between January 1, 2008 and December31, 2015 notified to 25 population-based EUROCAT (European Surveillance ofCongenital Anomalies) registries in 14 countries, formed the population-basedcase-series. Prevalence (total/live) rates and 95% confidence intervals were cal-culated as the number of cases per 10,000 births (live and stillbirths). Timetrends in prevalence of all nonsyndromic CHDs and for three CHD severitygroups (very severe, severe, and less severe) were plotted using a Poissonregression multilevel approach.Results: The total prevalence of nonsyndromic CHD was 57.1 per 10,000births (live births and stillbirths) for the 8-year period and remained stableacross the three CHD severity groups while the live birth prevalence was 60.2per 10,000 births. There was considerable variation in the reported total CHDprevalence and the direction of trends by registry. A decreasing prevalence of Background: The total prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHDs) variesby populations and over time. Studies that examine trends in the prevalence ofCHD in different regions may shed light on our understanding of the occur-rence of CHD and the impact of different risk factors.Objectives: To examine trends in total and live birth prevalence of nonsyndro-mic CHD in Europe between the years 2008 and 2015 and to investigate if thedecreasing trend reported by previous studies is continuing.Methods: Cases of CHD delivered between January 1, 2008 and December31, 2015 notified to 25 population-based EUROCAT (European Surveillance ofCongenital Anomalies) registries in 14 countries, formed the population-basedcase-series. Prevalence (total/live) rates and 95% confidence intervals were cal-culated as the number of cases per 10,000 births (live and stillbirths). Timetrends in prevalence of all nonsyndromic CHDs and for three CHD severitygroups (very severe, severe, and less severe) were plotted using a Poissonregression multilevel approach.Results: The total prevalence of nonsyndromic CHD was 57.1 per 10,000births (live births and stillbirths) for the 8-year period and remained stableacross the three CHD severity groups while the live birth prevalence was 60.2per 10,000 births. There was considerable variation in the reported total CHDprevalence and the direction of trends by registry. A decreasing prevalence of Background: The total prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHDs) variesby populations and over time. Studies that examine trends in the prevalence ofCHD in different regions may shed light on our understanding of the occur-rence of CHD and the impact of different risk factors.Objectives: To examine trends in total and live birth prevalence of nonsyndro-mic CHD in Europe between the years 2008 and 2015 and to investigate if thedecreasing trend reported by previous studies is continuing.Methods: Cases of CHD delivered between January 1, 2008 and December31, 2015 notified to 25 population-based EUROCAT (European Surveillance ofCongenital Anomalies) registries in 14 countries, formed the population-basedcase-series. Prevalence (total/live) rates and 95% confidence intervals were cal-culated as the number of cases per 10,000 births (live and stillbirths). Timetrends in prevalence of all nonsyndromic CHDs and for three CHD severitygroups (very severe, severe, and less severe) were plotted using a Poissonregression multilevel approach.Results: The total prevalence of nonsyndromic CHD was 57.1 per 10,000births (live births and stillbirths) for the 8-year period and remained stableacross the three CHD severity groups while the live birth prevalence was 60.2per 10,000 births. There was considerable variation in the reported total CHDprevalence and the direction of trends by registry. A decreasing prevalence ofCHD was observed for the Norway and England/Wales registries, whereas theCHD prevalence increased for registries in Italy and Croatia.Conclusions: The total prevalence of CHD in Europe between the years 2008and 2015 remained stable for all CHD and across the three CHD severitygroups. The decreasing trend reported by previous studies has not continued.However, we found significant differences in the total and live birth prevalenceby registry.