Epidemiology of birth defects based on surveillance data from 2011–2015 in Guangxi, China: comparison across five major ethnic groups

Abstract

The epidemiology of BDs among various Chinese ethnic groups has not been described in the literature. Since the etiology of BDs could be multi-factorial involving genetic factors, environmental factors and their interactions, it is crucial to understand the difference in BD phenotypes among Chinese ethnic groups. [...]our study aims to provide further insights on BDs among the different Chinese ethic groups in Liuzhou. [...]there is continued development of laws and regulations in Maternal and Child Health Care that have led to increased focus on BD surveillance and there is now full development of a government-led online BD surveillance system for the entire country. [...]Hunan, Inner Mongolia and most of the other similar studies in China use a BD monitoring period between 28 weeks of gestation and 7 days after birth; [25, 29] but in the United State the live birth hospitalizations are used in the 2008 Nationwide Inpatient Sample [30, 31].