Prevalence of congenital anomalies in a public hospital in Western Honduras, 2015-2023

Abstract

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) defines congenital anomalies (CA) as structural, functional, or metabolic abnormalities that occur during intrauterine life and are detected during pregnancy, at birth, or later in life. Objective: To determine the prevalence of congenital anomalies and describe the sociodemographic characteristics of the study population at the Enrique Aguilar Cerrato Hospital, located in the department of Intibucá, during the period 2015–2023. Methods: This was an observational, descriptive, retrospective study. All newborns diagnosed with congenital anomalies and registered in the institutional epidemiological surveillance system between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2023, were included. Data analysis was subsequently performed using the Epi Info statistical package, version 7.2.4.0. Results: During the study period, 40,370 births were attended, and of these, 481 newborns with CA were reported, with a prevalence of 11.91 per 1,000 births. Among the sociodemographic characteristics of the mothers of newborns with CA, 46.9% were between 20 and 30 years old, 79.6% came from the department of Intibucá, and 45.1% were nulliparous. 57.7% of the newborns were full-term, with an average weight of 2599.86 g (SD +/- 693.79 g), 60.4% were male, and 68.5% were vaginal births. Discussion: These results demonstrate a high prevalence of births with congenital heart disease in this department, children of young mothers, which does not align with the world literature, highlighting the need for studies like this one to generate preventive interventions.