<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_1905-7415.1006.529_s_001_w2aab3b7b6b1b6b1aab1c17b1Aa"><h3>Background</h3><p>We know of no study reporting hereditary and congenital anomalies (CA) prevalent among northwestern populations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, a region of war and geopolitical unrest.</p></sec><sec id="j_1905-7415.1006.529_s_002_w2aab3b7b6b1b6b1aab1c17b2Aa"><h3>Objectives</h3><p>To determine and report the epidemiology of CA in the Kurram Tribal Agency in northwest Pakistan.</p></sec><sec id="j_1905-7415.1006.529_s_003_w2aab3b7b6b1b6b1aab1c17b3Aa"><h3>Methods</h3><p>A cross-sectional clinical and genetic epidemiological study was conducted in relatively safe pockets of the Kurram Agency of FATA and individuals or families with CA were randomly recruited through door-to-door surveys and visiting public places like the <italic>Jirgah</italic> and hospitals.</p></sec><sec id="j_1905-7415.1006.529_s_004_w2aab3b7b6b1b6b1aab1c17b4Aa"><h3>Results</h3><p>This study ascertained 246 independent families or individuals with CA. They were grouped into 9 major and 49 minor phenotypic categories. Among the major categories, neurological disorders were the most frequent (n = 83; proportion = 0.337; CI = 0.278,0.397), followed by musculoskeletal defects (n = 56), limb anomalies (n = 52), sensorineural/ear defects (n = 18), ectodermal anomalies (n = 11), congenital heart defects (n = 10), and eye/visual impairments (n = 6). Sporadic occurrence of anomalies was more frequent than familial occurrence (169 vs. 77), and isolated presentations were more common than syndromic appearance (170 vs. 76). The distribution of various ascertainment types (e.g. sex-wise, familial/sporadic, isolated/syndromic presentations), with demographic variables such as age, origin, ethnicity, education, family type, and parental consanguinity were mostly not significant.</p></sec><sec id="j_1905-7415.1006.529_s_005_w2aab3b7b6b1b6b1aab1c17b5Aa"><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Neurological disorders were the most frequent type of congenital anomalies in the Kurram Federal Tribal Agency of Pakistan.</p></sec></abstract>

BackgroundWe know of no study reporting hereditary and congenital anomalies (CA) prevalent among northwestern populations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, a region of war and geopolitical unrest.ObjectivesTo determine and report the epidemiology of CA in the Kurram Tribal Agency in northwest Pakistan.MethodsA cross-sectional clinical and genetic epidemiological study was conducted in relatively safe pockets of the Kurram Agency of FATA and individuals or families with CA were randomly recruited through door-to-door surveys and visiting public places like the Jirgah and hospitals.ResultsThis study ascertained 246 independent families or individuals with CA. They were grouped into 9 major and 49 minor phenotypic categories. Among the major categories, neurological disorders were the most frequent (n = 83; proportion = 0.337; CI = 0.278,0.397), followed by musculoskeletal defects (n = 56), limb anomalies (n = 52), sensorineural/ear defects (n = 18), ectodermal anomalies (n = 11), congenital heart defects (n = 10), and eye/visual impairments (n = 6). Sporadic occurrence of anomalies was more frequent than familial occurrence (169 vs. 77), and isolated presentations were more common than syndromic appearance (170 vs. 76). The distribution of various ascertainment types (e.g. sex-wise, familial/sporadic, isolated/syndromic presentations), with demographic variables such as age, origin, ethnicity, education, family type, and parental consanguinity were mostly not significant.ConclusionsNeurological disorders were the most frequent type of congenital anomalies in the Kurram Federal Tribal Agency of Pakistan.

Epidemiology of congenital anomalies in the Kurram Tribal Agency, northwest Pakistan

Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences

Asian Biomedicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

BackgroundWe know of no study reporting hereditary and congenital anomalies (CA) prevalent among northwestern populations in the Federally Administered Tribal...

Epidemiology of congenital anomalies in the Kurram Tribal Agency, northwest Pakistan

Article Category: Original article

Published Online: Mar 31, 2017

Page range: 575 - 585

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.1006.529

Keywords
Congenital anomalies, descriptive epidemiology, FATA, genetic disorders, Pakistani

© 2016 Qandeel Zahra, Muhammad Shuaib, Sajid Malik

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Epidemiology of congenital anomalies in the Kurram Tribal Agency, northwest Pakistan

Article Category: Original article

Published Online: Mar 31, 2017

Page range: 575 - 585

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.1006.529

KeywordsCongenital anomalies, descriptive epidemiology, FATA, genetic disorders, Pakistani

© 2016 Qandeel Zahra, Muhammad Shuaib, Sajid Malik

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Congenital anomalies, descriptive epidemiology, FATA, genetic disorders, Pakistani