Influence of ethnic origin on the pattern of congenital heart defects in the first year of life.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence and patterns of congenital heart defects in infants requiring hospital admission in a defined population and to determine the differences in ethnic groups.

DESIGN

A three year retrospective analysis of all hospital admissions for paediatric congenital heart defects in a single centre.

SETTING

Tertiary referral centre for infant cardiac services in the West Midlands region, United Kingdom.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and other individuals from the Indian subcontinent constitute 5.8% of the total population of the West Midlands region. Some 9% of infants, however, are Asian because of a high birth rate. All infants with confirmed congenital heart defects resident in this region who required hospital admission between April 1990 and March 1993 were classified as Asians and non-Asian, mainly white, infants.

RESULTS

Of 1111 infants with congenital heart defects born in the West Midlands and admitted to the hospital, 17.0% were Asian, significantly more than the percentage of Asian infants in the population (P < 0.0001). Asian infants had a higher proportion of complex congenital heart disease (7% v 2.1%, P < 0.001), whereas coarctation of the aorta was more common in non-Asian (3% v 9.1%, P = 0.003). Persistent arterial duct seemed to be more common in Asian children (16% v 10%, NS), but this group included preterm infants admitted for duct ligation. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the other nine categories of congenital heart defects.

CONCLUSIONS

The estimated prevalence of congenital heart defects requiring hospital admission was higher in Asian infants than in non-Asian (9.45 per 1000 v 4.56 per 1000, P < 0.0001). Complex congenital heart defects were more common in Asian infants whereas coarctation of the aorta was more common in non-Asian.