| Abstract | dc.description.abstract | The Latin American Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC)
has performed an epidemiological surveillance of congenital malformations since
1967. This allows to detect any unexpected change in the incidence of malformations,
possibly caused by a new environmental teratogenic agent. Aim: To report a summary
of the results thus far obtained in this study. Material and Methods: The ECLAMC
database was analyzed and all live births and stillbirths of more than 500 grams in
the period 1995-2008, were analyzed. Results: There were 2,409,407 births in the
nine participant countries. Of these 31,516 (1.3%) were stillbirths. The global rate
of congenital malformations in this sample was 2.7%. In the studied period, there
was a signifi cant reduction in the rates of anencephaly and spina bifi da in Chile and
Argentina. In the rest of the countries, the global rates of malformations increased.
Venezuela had the higher rate of teenage pregnancies (25%), followed by Colombia
(23%). Chile had the higher percentage of women aged 35 years or more giving birth
(14%), followed by Uruguay (13%). However, Chile had the higher rate of Down
syndrome and Uruguay, the lowest (24.7 and 13.6 per 10000). Conclusions: There
is a tendency towards an increase in the rates of congenital malformations in this
sample, with signifi cant differences among countries. | |
