Alberta Congenital Anomalies Surveillance System

Overview

Journal CMAJ

Date 1989 Dec 1

PMID 2819634

Citations 12

Authors

R B Lowry

N Y Thunem

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The Alberta Congenital Anomalies Surveillance System was started in 1966 in response to the thalidomide tragedy earlier in the decade. It was one of four provincial surveillance systems on which the federal government relied for baseline statistics of congenital anomalies. The government now collects data from six provinces and one territory. The Alberta Congenital Anomaly Surveillance System originally depended on three types of notification to the Division of Vital Statistics, Department of Health, Government of Alberta: birth notice and certificates of death and stillbirth; increased sources of ascertainment have greatly improved data quality. We present the data for 1980-86 and compare the prevalence rates of selected anomalies with the rates from three other surveillance systems. Surveillance systems do not guarantee that a new teratogen will be detected, but they are extremely valuable for testing hypotheses regarding causation. At the very least they provide baseline data with which to compare any deviation or trend. For many, if not most, congenital anomalies total prevention is not possible; however, surveillance systems can be used to measure progress in prevention.

Citing Articles

Data Quality Assessment on Congenital Anomalies in Ontario, Canada.

Miao Q, Moore A, Dougan S Front Pediatr. 2020; 8:573090.

PMID: 33330272 PMC: 7714994. DOI: 10.3389/fped.2020.573090.

Epidemiology of birth defects based on surveillance data from 2011-2015 in Guangxi, China: comparison across five major ethnic groups.

Chen J, Huang X, Wang B, Zhang Y, Rongkavilit C, Zeng D BMC Public Health. 2018; 18(1):1008.

PMID: 30103721 PMC: 6090596. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-018-5947-y.

Temporal trends in ankyloglossia and frenotomy in British Columbia, Canada, 2004-2013: a population-based study.

Joseph K, Kinniburgh B, Metcalfe A, Razaz N, Sabr Y, Lisonkova S CMAJ Open. 2016; 4(1):E33-40.

PMID: 27280112 PMC: 4866928. DOI: 10.9778/cmajo.20150063.

Status Report--Retracing the history of the early development of national chronic disease surveillance in Canada and the major role of the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control (LCDC) from 1972 to 2000.

Choi B, Wigle D, Johansen H, Losos J, Fair M, Napke E Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2015; 35(2):35-44.

PMID: 25915119 PMC: 4910431. DOI: 10.24095/hpcdp.35.2.02.

The survey of birth defects rate based on birth registration system.

Yu M, Ping Z, Zhang S, He Y, Dong R, Guo X Chin Med J (Engl). 2015; 128(1):7-14.

PMID: 25563306 PMC: 4837823. DOI: 10.4103/0366-6999.147785.

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