Updating of the prevalence of congenital anomalies among resident births in the Municipality of Gela (Southern Italy)

OBJECTIVES: to update the prevalence of congenital anomalies in the Municipality of Gela (Southern Italy), in particular to verify whether the previously reported high prevalence of hypospadias was confirmed. DESIGN: study on prevalence at birth of congenital anomalies by retrieving information from multiple sources. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: in the Municipality of Gela it is localized a site of national interest for environmental remediation (SIN). Data of residents born in the Municipality of Gela in 2003-2008 were recovered from hospital records, local and regional archives, Sicilian registry of congenital malformations database, hospital admissions at medical and surgical hospitals in Catania. For comparison, European (EUROCAT), Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna registries data have been used. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: congenital anomalies, divided into confirmed anomalies, minor anomalies, uncertain conditions, classified by large groups and specific anomalies. RESULTS: statistically significant excesses emerge with respect to the references for genital anomalies, and for urinary and total anomalies including not-specified diagnoses. For cardiovascular and limb anomalies (including not-specified clubfoot), the excess is significant only in comparison with Italian figures. The prevalence of hypospadias of 46.7/10,000 shows statistically significant excesses compared to European and Italian reference values, of 1.7 and 2.3 times, respectively. CONCLUSION: retrospective recovery of data produced incompleteness of cases and poor diagnostic definition. The epidemiological picture is more reliable for congenital anomalies less susceptible to termination of pregnancy. The study confirms a high prevalence of hypospadias, estimated between the value observed in the previous twelve-year study and the one reported for the area of Priolo-Augusta- Melilli for the years 1990-1998; and higher than those reported in literature, with sporadic exceptions. The observed data, as well as the documented presence in the environment and in biological fluids of dangerous pollutants in periconceptional exposures, support a plausibility of multifactorial aetiology for hypospadias. The environmental risk should not be neglected in the decisions of primary prevention.