Epidemiologic profile and prevalence of live births with orofacial cleft in Brazil: a descriptive study

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile and prevalence of live births with orofacial clefts in Brazil between 1999 and 2020. Methods: Descriptive study. The population corresponded to live births with isolated orofacial clefts in Brazil registered in the Live Birth Information System between 1999 and 2020. Descriptive variables were selected according to their availability and grouped into socioeconomic and demographic, maternal and child health care, and biological variables. Data were submitted to a descriptive analysis using the Software for Statistics and Data Science (STATA). Results: During the period, 33,699 children were born with orofacial clefts, and 82.1% (27,677) of them were isolated clefts. Regarding these cases, the majority were cleft lip and palate (9,619 or 34.7%), followed by cleft palate (9,442 or 34.1%), and by cleft lip (8,616 or 31.3%). Conclusions: Live births with orofacial clefts in Brazil were male, white, with birthweight ≥2,500 g and gestational age ≥37 weeks, born by cesarean section, and with Apgar scores ≥7. The cases were more frequent among mothers who were in their first and single pregnancy and had seven or more prenatal appointments. The mothers were 20 and 29 years old, had eight to ten years of study, and were single. The national prevalence of clefts was 4.24/10,000. The South and Southeast regions of Brazil had the highest prevalence, while the lowest prevalence was recorded in the Northeast and North regions. For the Federative Units, the highest and lowest prevalences were found, respectively, in Paraná and Acre. RESUMO Objetivo: Descrever o perfil epidemiológico e a prevalência dos nascidos vivos com fissuras orofaciais no Brasil entre 1999 e 2020. Métodos: Estudo descritivo. A população correspondeu aos nascidos vivos com fissuras orofaciais isoladas no Brasil registrados no Sistema de Informação de Nascidos Vivos entre 1999 e 2020. As variáveis descritivas foram selecionadas de acordo com a sua disponibilidade e agrupadas em variáveis socioeconômicas e demográficas, de atenção à saúde materno-infantil e biológicas. Os dados foram submetidos a análise descritiva utilizando o Software for Statistics and Data Science (STATA). Resultados: No período, 33.699 indivíduos nasceram com fissura orofacial no Brasil, e 82,1% (27.677) deles foram fissuras isoladas. Com relação a esses casos, a maioria foi de fissuras de lábio e palato (9.619 ou 34,7%), seguidas por fissura de palato (9.442 ou 34,1%) e po