Intergenerational factors in the etiology of anencephalus and spina bifida.

To test the hypothesis that events and conditions early in women's lives influence their future risk of producing babies with anencephalus and spina bifida, a case-control study compared mothers of affected infants with mothers whose infants were normal. Occupational class scores of husbands and fathers of the case mothers and control mothers were also compared. While there was no difference between the scores of case and control husbands, the mean score of fathers of case mothers was significantly less than that of the fathers of control mothers. This can be an indication that case mothers grew up under less favorable conditions. These findings, in conjunction with the pattern evident from previous epidemiological studies, support the hypothesis that intergenerational factors play a rôle in the etiology of these defects.