Epidemiological study of congenital talipes calcaneovalgus.

Among 671,494 children born in South American hospitals participating in the Collaborative Latin American Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC), 284 had talipes calcaneovalgus, corresponding to an incidence of 4.2 per 10,000 live births. Genetic and environmental risk factors were investigated in the sample of malformed newborns with talipes calcaneovalgus and in matched control babies. An excess number of females was found among the newborns with talipes calcaneovalgus. Talipes calcaneovalgus patients did not differ from the matched controls in terms of ethnic groups, inbreeding coefficient, time between gestations or multiple births. However, the data suggested that breech delivery and primiparae mothers are higher risk factors for this newborn malformation.