Jennita Reefhuis

Is There an Association between Maternal Carbamazepine Use during Pregnancy and Eye Malformations in the Child

Summary:  Purpose: To check for an association between carbamazepine (CBZ) use by the mother during pregnancy and congenital eye malformations (i.e., anophthalmia, microphthalmia, and coloboma) in the child, as suggested by Sutcliffe et al. (1998), who reported four cases.

Birth Defect and Risk Factor Surveillance in the Northern and Southwestern Netherlands

Objective: To survey the associations between several risk factors and birth defects, in order to detect potential new teratogens. Methods: Data of the two Dutch European Registration of Congenital Anomalies (EUROCAT) registries collected before January 1, 1998 were used to perform χ2 tests for a large number of risk factors and birth defects. Defects caused by chromosomal or monogenic disorders were analyzed separately. Results: Cross-tabulations of 80 groups of birth defects with 303 risk factors were studied. Of these, 126 combinations had a p value under 0.05, and 34 had a p value under 0.001. Of these 34 associations, some are known in the literature, some were found before in the same databases and some were new associations. Conclusions: This is a good method for generating new hypotheses for associations between risk factors and birth defects. It can be a start for new, more in-depth studies of potential teratogens.

Letter to the Editor: Folic acid prevents more than neural tube defects: A registry-based study in the northern Netherlands

It has been shown that periconceptional intake of folic acid (FA) reduces the recurrence and occurrence of neural tube defects (NTDs) with 50-70% [1, 2]. The randomised clinical trial of Czeizel [1] suggested a protective effect on other defects as well. Some later studies confirmed his findings, while others did not. Using data from the EUROCAT northern Netherlands registry, we have investigated the possible preventive effect of FA in five selected groups of malformations. These malformations are NTDs, heart defects, oral clefts, urinary tract defects, and limb reduction defects.

Report on the Second National Conference on Genetics and Public Health

Abstracts Community Genet 1999;2:119–136 121 Plenary Sessions Community Genet 1999;2:119–136 121 Plenary Session