review · BMJ Paediatrics Open
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 32 studies across Africa, involving 626,983 participants, evaluated the prevalence and risk factors of congenital anomalies in newborns. The analysis established a pooled prevalence of 23.5 congenital anomalies per 1,000 newborns, noting substantial regional variation. Several maternal and behavioural factors significantly increased the likelihood of these abnormalities. These risk factors included chewing khat, consuming alcohol, a history of drug use, lack of folic acid supplementation, maternal illness, and maternal age over 35 years. Conversely, living in an urban residence was associated with lower odds of congenital anomalies. The findings highlight the importance of preventative measures, including routine folate supplementation, enhanced antenatal care, careful management of maternal sickness, professional consultation prior to medication use, and the avoidance of alcohol and khat during pregnancy.
Congenital anomalies pose serious health challenges for newborn survival and long-term development. By establishing the scale of these conditions across Africa and identifying key risk factors such as poor nutrition and substance use, this research provides healthcare professionals and policymakers with clear targets for maternal health interventions, preventative supplementation, and public health education to safeguard infant health.
The abstract outlines public health evidence rather than a specific proprietary technology. However, the identified risk factors could inform early-stage development of targeted maternal health programmes, digital clinical decision-support tools, or nutritional intervention strategies for public health agencies and antenatal clinics. Because this is epidemiological baseline research, any practical products or structured commercial healthcare interventions derived from these findings remain at an early concept stage.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Objective To evaluate the pooled prevalence and identify risk factors of congenital anomalies among neonates in Africa. Methods The pooled birth prevalence of congenital anomalies was the first outcome of this review, and the pooled measure of association between congenital anomalies and related risk factors in Africa was the second. We conducted a thorough search of the databases PubMed/ Medline, PubMed Central, Hinary, Google, Cochrane Library, African Journals Online, Web of Science and Google Scholar up to 31 January 2023. The JBI appraisal checklist was used to evaluate the studies. STATA V.17 was used for the analysis. The I 2 test and Eggers and Beggs tests were used to measure study heterogeneity and publication bias respectively. The pooled prevalence of congenital anomalies was calculated using DerSimonian and Laird random-effect model. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis and meta-regression were also performed. Result This systematic review and meta-analysis includes 32 studies with a total of 626 983 participants. The pooled prevalence of congenital anomalies was 23.5 (95% CI 20 to 26.9) per 1000 newborns. Not taking folic acid (pooled OR=2.67; 95% CI (1.42 to 5.00)), history of maternal illness (pooled OR=2.44, 95% CI (1.2 to 4.94)), history of drug use (pooled OR=2.74, 95% CI (1.29 to 5.81)), maternal age (>35 years.) (Pooled OR=1.97, 95% CI (1.15 to 3.37)), drinking alcohol (pooled OR=3.15, 95% CI (1.4 to 7.04)), kchat chewing (pooled OR=3.34, 5% CI (1.68 to 6.65)) and urban residence (pooled OR=0.58, 95% CI (0.36 to 0.95)) were had significant association with congenital anomalies. Conclusion The pooled prevalence of congenital abnormalities in Africa was found to be substantial, with significant regional variation. Appropriate folate supplementation during pregnancy, proper management of maternal sickness, proper antenatal care, referring healthcare personnel before using drugs, avoiding alcohol intake and kchat chewing are all important in lowering the occurrence of congenital abnormalities among newborns in Africa.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1136/bmjpo-2023-002022
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
