Int J Epidemiol. 1987 Jun;16(2):246-51.
A total of 1633 cases of neural tube defects were analysed, registered between 1980 and 1983 in liveborn and stillborn babies and in fetuses aborted as a result of prenatal diagnosis of malformation in 16 EUROCAT Registries (total births = 766,603). A clear geographical pattern was observed. The highest neural tube defect (NTD) rates were seen in Dublin (Ireland), Belfast (UK) and Glasgow (UK) with 40 cases per 10,000 births and in these centres there was a significant decrease in prevalence over the years. In Galway (Ireland) and Liverpool (UK), the rates were approximately 20 cases per 10,000 births, the rate decreasing over years in Liverpool. In the registries situated in continental Europe, the prevalence varied between 6 and 13 cases per 10,000 births and there was no apparent change in the prevalence with time. The spina bifida/anencephaly ratio and the male proportion among the NTD cases were both lower in the British Isles than in continental Europe. Cases of prenatal diagnosis of NTD resulting in termination of pregnancy formed 19% of the total NTD cases, this proportion increasing over years. A large variation between centres was seen in the effectiveness of prenatal screening for NTD.
对1633例神经管缺陷病例进行了分析，这些病例于1980年至1983年期间在16个欧洲先天性异常监测（EUROCAT）登记处登记，涉及活产儿、死产儿以及因产前诊断出畸形而流产的胎儿（总出生数 = 766,603）。观察到明显的地理分布模式。神经管缺陷（NTD）发生率最高的是都柏林（爱尔兰）、贝尔法斯特（英国）和格拉斯哥（英国），每10,000例出生中有40例，并且在这些中心，多年来患病率显著下降。在戈尔韦（爱尔兰）和利物浦（英国），发生率约为每10,000例出生20例，利物浦的发生率多年来也在下降。在欧洲大陆的登记处，患病率在每10,000例出生6至13例之间，且患病率随时间没有明显变化。不列颠群岛的脊柱裂/无脑儿比例以及NTD病例中的男性比例均低于欧洲大陆。因产前诊断出NTD而终止妊娠的病例占NTD病例总数的19%，这一比例多年来呈上升趋势。各中心在NTD产前筛查的有效性方面存在很大差异。
