article · Pediatric Health Medicine and Therapeutics
A retrospective study evaluated the prevalence and trends of congenital anomalies among neonates admitted to Jimma Medical Center between 2017 and 2019. Out of 3,346 admitted neonates, 199 were diagnosed with congenital anomalies, yielding a prevalence of 5.95 percent. The central nervous system was the most commonly affected body system, followed by the gastrointestinal tract and the musculoskeletal system. Most affected infants were male, came from urban areas, and were born with normal birth weight, whilst approximately fifteen percent exhibited multiple anomalies. The proportion of congenital anomalies grew significantly over the three years examined. The findings demonstrate a rising clinical burden of birth defects, indicating an urgent need for targeted public health actions such as preconception and early pregnancy iron folate supplementation, community awareness programmes, and enhanced neonatal care and rehabilitation facilities.
Congenital anomalies cause severe health complications and mortality, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Understanding their local prevalence and identifying the most commonly affected organ systems helps healthcare systems allocate resources effectively. It also highlights the critical importance of preventive public health measures, such as maternal iron and folate supplementation, alongside community education and specialised neonatal rehabilitation.
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INTRODUCTION: Congenital anomalies are a major public health problem which is defined as structural or functional anomalies that occur during intrauterine life which can be detected prenatally, at birth, or sometimes may only be detected later in infancy. The impact of congenital anomalies is severe in middle- and low-income countries than in other developed and developing countries. OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and trends of congenital anomalies among neonates admitted at Jimma Medical Center from 2017 to 2019. METHODS: A facility-based retrospective, descriptive crossectional study was conducted among neonates admitted at Jimma Medical Center from 2017-2019. Descriptive analysis (frequency and percentage) was calculated for the variables. The result was present in the table, text, and figure. RESULTS: From a total of 3346 admitted neonates, 199 (5.95%) neonates were diagnosed with congenital anomalies; of which 120 (60.3%), 146 (73.4%), 144 (72.4%) and 30 (15.1%) of neonates were males, urban dwellers, delivered with normal birth weight and had multiple congenital anomalies, respectively. Central nervous system was the most commonly affected body system 56 (28.1%), followed by the gastrointestinal tract 41 (20.1%) and musculoskeletal system 32 (16.1%). The proportion of congenital anomalies was significantly increasing over time. CONCLUSION: The overall prevalence of congenital anomalies was high and increased from year to year. The proportions observed in the study indicated that a significant number of neonates were affected and suffered from the impacts of congenital anomalies which need immediate preventive actions such as iron folate supplementation during preconception and early pregnancy. Therefore, design strategies to create community awareness and prevention mechanism of congenital anomalies, and strengthening the care and rehabilitation services for affected patients are crucial.
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DOI: 10.2147/phmt.s293285
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