Mortality and Maldevelopment

Congenital malformations are worldwide occurrences, they know no national borders, do not distinguish between races, ethnicities, rich or poor. These severe physical abnormalities, present at birth, happen more often than is usually realized, once in every 33 births. They strike every part of the body, limbs, head, heart, and all others.

The most frequent of them all are the many types of malformations of the cardiovascular system, the heart and its blood vessels, which happen in about once in every 250 births. Study of these conditions during the twentieth century took many forms, revolving about examination and analysis of their causes, genetic, nongenetic, and complex. To aid in unraveling the complexities of this causation, various influences on their frequency are considered, among them social conditions, maternal health, birthweight, newborn maturity. And of course the known and possible environmental bases of their occurrence are fully described.

The relation of infant death to cardiovascular malformation is noted; and puzzlement that the level of such deaths had not kept pace with the reduction of infant death itself and of that associated with other kinds of malformations during this period.

An introductory record of the history of perinatal mortality in the last three centuries gives foundation for the discussion of death in contemporary decades.

From the reviews:

"This is an epidemiologist's approach to congenital malformations of the heart which relates those malformations to infant and perinatal mortality. It is written for anyone who cares for patients with congenital heart disease: pediatric cardiologists, adult congenital heart disease practitioners, nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists. It is really written for everyone in the entire field of congenital heart disease." (Douglas Moodie, Doody's Book Review, October, 2007)

Contenu
Prenatal and Infant Mortality.- Infant Mortality.- Birthweight and Impairments.- Ethnic and Other Comparisons.- Causes of Perinatal Mortality.- Congenital Cardiovascular Malformations.- Population-based studies.- Hospital-Based Studies.- Cardiovascular Malformations and Birthweight.- Patent Ductus Arteriosus and Birthweight.- Cardiovascular Malformation and Mortality.- Prenatal Detection.- Summary to This Point.- Ventricular Septal Defect.- Cardiovascular Malformation and Down Syndrome.- Epidemiology and Etiology of Cardiovascular Malformation.- Extrinsic Causes of Cardiovascular Malformations.- Summing UP, Comment, and Last Word.