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Medical Student
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Community/Public Health
Abstract
Background: South Texas is a medically underserved area with pockets of low socioeconomic status and poor access to healthcare, including prenatal care. This paper aims to monitor the changes in prevalence for cardiac, circulatory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and neural tube birth defects in this region in the last two decades to monitor the effectiveness of current public health efforts.
Methods: Public data on 20 birth defects from the Texas Department of State Health Services were obtained for decades 2000-2010 and 2010-2019 in Texas Public Health Region 11 and the remaining regions of Texas. Prevalences and odds ratios for all birth defects in each race and age group within two regions of study (Region 11 and rest of Texas) for the two different decades (2000-2009 and 2010-2019). After these calculations were complete, confidence intervals were calculated to identify statistically significant changes using two main methods: comparison of a region in one decade to the same region in the other, and comparison of two separate regions within the same decade.
Results: We report that Region 11 had a larger prevalence of birth defects compared to the rest of Texas within both 2000-2009 and 2010-2019. There was an increase in the prevalences of microcephaly, ASD, pulmonary valve atresia or stenosis, PDA, and hypospadias within Region 11 in the last decade; the prevalence of these defects also increased in the rest of Texas within the last decade, with the addition of eight more: hydrocephaly, double outlet right ventricle, tetralogy of Fallot, VSD, tricuspid valve atresia or stenosis, coarctation of the aorta, stenosis or atresia of the small intestine, and renal agenesis/dysgenesis. Pyloric stenosis alone saw a significant decrease in prevalence in the last decade for both regions in this study. Furthermore, it was found that the prevalences of anencephaly and spina bifida without anencephaly went unchanged in both regions.
Conclusions: Birth defects are more prevalent in Texas Public Health Region 11 than the rest of Texas, and are increasing in some cases (microcephaly, ASD, pulmonary valve atresia or stenosis, PDA, and hypospadias). It was found that the prevalence values of neural tube defects (anencephaly and spina bifida without anencephaly) did not significantly change between 2000-2009 and 2010-2019 in either Texas Public Health Region 11, or the remainder of Texas. This seems to indicate that efforts to increase maternal awareness of folic acid supplementation and other prenatal care between 2000-2009 and 2010-2019 in these regions were not effective enough to further reduce NTD prevalence by a statistically significant amount in the latter decade. Further research investigating South Texans’ diet, environmental exposure, or other factors can build upon the trends highlighted in this paper to investigate the causation of the observed changes.
Presentation Type
Talk
Recommended Citation
Hebert, Jonathan M.; Lopez, Miguel A.; and Rengasamy, Padmanabhan, "Birth defect trends within Texas Public Health Region 11, 2000-2019: an analysis of Texas Department of State Health Services public data" (2024). Research Colloquium. 13.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/colloquium/2024/posters/13
Included in
Birth defect trends within Texas Public Health Region 11, 2000-2019: an analysis of Texas Department of State Health Services public data
Background: South Texas is a medically underserved area with pockets of low socioeconomic status and poor access to healthcare, including prenatal care. This paper aims to monitor the changes in prevalence for cardiac, circulatory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and neural tube birth defects in this region in the last two decades to monitor the effectiveness of current public health efforts.
Methods: Public data on 20 birth defects from the Texas Department of State Health Services were obtained for decades 2000-2010 and 2010-2019 in Texas Public Health Region 11 and the remaining regions of Texas. Prevalences and odds ratios for all birth defects in each race and age group within two regions of study (Region 11 and rest of Texas) for the two different decades (2000-2009 and 2010-2019). After these calculations were complete, confidence intervals were calculated to identify statistically significant changes using two main methods: comparison of a region in one decade to the same region in the other, and comparison of two separate regions within the same decade.
Results: We report that Region 11 had a larger prevalence of birth defects compared to the rest of Texas within both 2000-2009 and 2010-2019. There was an increase in the prevalences of microcephaly, ASD, pulmonary valve atresia or stenosis, PDA, and hypospadias within Region 11 in the last decade; the prevalence of these defects also increased in the rest of Texas within the last decade, with the addition of eight more: hydrocephaly, double outlet right ventricle, tetralogy of Fallot, VSD, tricuspid valve atresia or stenosis, coarctation of the aorta, stenosis or atresia of the small intestine, and renal agenesis/dysgenesis. Pyloric stenosis alone saw a significant decrease in prevalence in the last decade for both regions in this study. Furthermore, it was found that the prevalences of anencephaly and spina bifida without anencephaly went unchanged in both regions.
Conclusions: Birth defects are more prevalent in Texas Public Health Region 11 than the rest of Texas, and are increasing in some cases (microcephaly, ASD, pulmonary valve atresia or stenosis, PDA, and hypospadias). It was found that the prevalence values of neural tube defects (anencephaly and spina bifida without anencephaly) did not significantly change between 2000-2009 and 2010-2019 in either Texas Public Health Region 11, or the remainder of Texas. This seems to indicate that efforts to increase maternal awareness of folic acid supplementation and other prenatal care between 2000-2009 and 2010-2019 in these regions were not effective enough to further reduce NTD prevalence by a statistically significant amount in the latter decade. Further research investigating South Texans’ diet, environmental exposure, or other factors can build upon the trends highlighted in this paper to investigate the causation of the observed changes.