Incidence of congenital heart disease among children in a selected population sample.

The incidence of congenital heart disease [CHD] among infants and children has been studied since 1976. The sample represents more than one third of all infants born annually during the years under review. In 1976, 354 of all newborns had a CHD, confirmed by autopsy in 105, as compared with 285 newborns with CHD in 1977, confirmed by autopsy in 62, the incidence in 1976 and 1977 thus being 9.48% and 7.67%, respectively. The most common diseases were ventricular septal defect (38.7% and 39.65%), atrial septal defect (9.04% and 7.72%) and left-to-right shunt (8.47 and 11.23%). The incidence of the remaining CHD was less than 5%. During the two years under review and unspecified heart diseases represented 12.15% (1976) and 7.72% (1977). Mortality within the first month of birth in 1976 and 1977 was 62.8% and 51.6%, respectively. The difference shows that the incidence of CHD in 1976 was higher than in 1977.