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The epidemiology of CHD in Malta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2023

Victor Grech Open the ORCID record for Victor Grech [Opens in a new window] ,
Miriam Gatt  and
Neville Calleja
Victor Grech*
Affiliation:
Paediatric Department, Mater Dei Hospital, Tal-Qroqq, Malta
Miriam Gatt
Affiliation:
Department of Health Information and Research Guardamangia, Health Ministry, Guardamangia, Malta
Neville Calleja
Affiliation:
Department of Health Information and Research Guardamangia, Health Ministry, Guardamangia, Malta
*
Corresponding author: V. Grech; Email: victor.e.grech@gov.mt
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Abstract

Background:

CHD refers to structural cardiac abnormalities which comprise the commonest group of congenital malformations. Malta is a small island in the central Mediterranean with excellent diagnostic and therapeutic facilities. It is unique in the European population as termination of pregnancy is illegal. This study was carried out to ascertain patterns in CHD prevalence in comparison with EUROCAT data (European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies).

Methods:

Anonymised data were obtained from the EUROCAT website for 1993–2020.

Results:

There were a total of 22,833,032 births from all EUROCAT Registries, of which 121,697 were from Malta. The prevalence rate for Malta CHD was 32.38/10,000 births (at the higher end of the range). Malta had a significant excess of commoner, comparatively non-severe CHDs. For most of the severe lesions analysed rates reported were higher than EUROCAT average, however, apart from Ebstein’s anomaly, they all fell within the ranges reported from the different registries.

Discussion:

Wide variations in reported CHD prevalence are known, and the Malta rates may be higher for milder defects due to quicker pickup prior to spontaneous resolution. There may also be a higher pickup of milder forms of more severe conditions. For the more severe conditions, lack of termination may be the explanation. These factors may result in the higher neonatal mortality observed in Malta.

Keywords

Heart defectscongenital/classification/diagnosis/*epidemiologyhumansincidencemalta/epidemiologypaediatrics/statistics and numerical data/trends
Type
Original Article
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , March 2024 , pp. 547 - 551
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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