An epidemiologic study of orofacial clefts in Hamedan City, Iran: a 15-year study.

Objective: To determine the epidemiology of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) in births in hospitals of Hamedan City, Iran, and to evaluate the etiologic factors that have a role in the development of these anomalies.

Methods: This research was a 15-year cross-sectional study (1993 to 2008). Methods: All infants born with CL/P during the study period comprised the study group. One thousand healthy children without cleft anomalies born in the same hospitals during the study period comprised the control group.

Results: The prevalence of CL/P was 1.016 per 1000 live births (53.4% boys and 46.6% girls). Cleft lip associated with cleft palate (CLP) was the most common type of anomaly (53.5%), followed by isolated cleft lip (CL; 28.7%) and isolated cleft palate (CP; 17.8%). Eighty-six babies (81%) had unilateral CL and 20 babies (19%) had bilateral CL. Twenty-three newborns with CL/P (17.8%) had other congenital deformities. The frequency of CL/P in parents, siblings, and relatives of newborns in study group was higher than in the control group. There was a significant difference between the study and control groups with respect to maternal drug intake, trauma, smoking, and x-ray exposure during pregnancy.

Conclusions: The birth prevalence of CL/P in Hamedan City was closer to the prevalence of CL/P in the United States and Europe than Africa and the Far East. We found that the presence of cleft in parents, siblings, and other relatives; maternal drug intake; trauma; radiation; and smoking were risk factors for cleft development in newborns.