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| Authors | N Calleja M Gatt J Calleja Agius T Cuschieri |
| Abstract | This study investigates this role in Malta, adjusting for maternal age, infant gender and familial socio-economic status. 25472 births were registered between 1996 and 2001. Of these, 961 babies had congenital anomalies, according to the Malta Congenital Anomalies Registry (MCAR). The Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) provided the distance from each village centre to either Maghtab in Malta or Qortin in Gozo. Poisson regression analysis was used. Due to limited statistical power, analyses had to be carried out at local developmental plan level. Occupations were classified as professional, skilled, service provision, unskilled and elementary. Locality data was used to map overall anomaly rates. None of the results showed a significant risk ratio with distance from a landfill. Overall and specific groups of birth defects show a higher risk with increasing maternal age. Males are more at risk of overall defects, particularly cleft lip/palate. Females are more at risk of a neural tube or heart defect. Fathers with unskilled or elementary occupations are more at risk of having a baby with an anomaly than professionals. Adjusted analyses did not influence risk ratios. Analysis by local development plan area did not yield any significant results and was not included in the adjusted model. However, the Northwest showed a barely significant lower risk than the North Harbour area. Congenital anomalies are therefore not significantly related to distance from landfills, unlike gender, maternal age and socio-economic status. Lack of significance can be due to the small size of our population and the rarity of these events, since our risk ratios were similar to those obtained in other studies. The lower rates in the Northwest could be attributable to north-westerly winds. However, further analysis would be indicated. Our all-inclusive heart defect registration criteria may be introducing a bias. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | 15 Issue 1-2/suppl. 2003 |
| Pages | - |
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| Key words | landfills, birth defects, congenital anomalies, maternal age, infant, gender, familial socio-economic status |