Elsevier

Public Health

Volume 105, Issue 2, March 1991, Pages 99-112
Public Health

Risk factors for ventricular septal defect in finland

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0033-3506(05)80283-5Get rights and content

The possible effect of genetic and environmental factors during pregnancy on the occurrence of ventricular septal defect (VSD) in the offspring was studied in 150 cases and 756 controls. The cases represented all verified VSDs in Finland during 1982–1983. The controls were randomly selected from all babies born during the same period. Case and control mothers were interviewed by midwives approximately three months after delivery using a structured questionnaire. Congenital heart disease was more prevalent among parents of cases than those of controls. Maternal alcohol consumption during the first trimester of pregnancy was more common among the mothers of VSD infants (47.0%) than among those of controls (38.0%, P<0.05). Exposure to organic solvents at work showed in logistic regression analysis an adjusted relative odds ratio of 1.8 (95% confidence interval 1.0–3.4). The risk of VSD was not associated with any of the maternal habits monitored, e.g. smoking, or coffee, tea, cola, acetosalicylic acid or diazepam consumption. Whether the mother was employed during the first trimester of pregnancy, and her exposure to anesthetic gases, disinfectants, pecticides, wood preservatives or video display terminals were not factors associated with the risk of ventricular septal defect.

References (40)

  • FerenzC. et al.

    Cardiac and non-cardiac malformations: Observations in a population-based study

    Teratology

    (1987)
  • LandtmanB.

    Clinical and morphological studies in congenital heart disease. A review of 772 cases

    Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica

    (1971)
  • CampbellM.

    Incidence of cardiac malformations at birth and later, and neonatal mortality

    British Heart Journal

    (1973)
  • PinkleyK. et al.

    Current trends: Ventricular septal defect

    MMWR

    (1981)
  • NewmanT.B.

    Etiology of ventricular septal defects: An epidemiologic approach

    Pediatrics

    (1985)
  • TikkanenJ. et al.

    Cardiovascular malformations and organic solvent exposure during pregnancy in Finland

    American Journal of Industrial Medicine

    (1988)
  • ArmitageP.

    Statistical methods in medical research

    (1985)
  • LemeshowS. et al.

    Estimating odds ratios with categorically scaled covariates in multiple logistic regression analysis

    American Journal of Epidemiology

    (1984)
  • RogerJ.H.

    A significance test for cyclic trends in incidence data

    Biometrika

    (1977)
  • NoraJ.J. et al.

    Empiric recurrence risks in common and uncommon congenital heart lesions

    Teratology

    (1970)
  • Cited by (61)

    • Prenatal cannabis exposure - The “first hit” to the endocannabinoid system

      2016, Neurotoxicology and Teratology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Since congenital heart defects are the most prevalent birth defect that contributes to infant mortality, it is essential to understand the risk factors for heart defects (Centers for Disease, C. and Prevention, 1998; Watkins and Botto, 2001; Hoffman and Kaplan, 2002). Investigation of the effects of illicit drug use on the risk of ventricular septal defects (VSD) revealed that increased maternal and paternal marijuana use correlated positively with a greater risk of VSD (Williams et al., 2004; Ewing et al., 1997), the most common type of congenital cardiac anomaly (Tikkanen and Heinonen, 1991). Maternal marijuana use was also found to increase the risk of Ebstein's anomaly, a congenital heart defect in which the tricuspid valve leaflet is displaced, affecting cardiac blood flow, which can lead to an increased incidence of heart failure or enlargement of the heart (Lurie and Ferencz, 1997).

    • The pathogenesis of atrial and atrioventricular septal defects with special emphasis on the role of the dorsal mesenchymal protrusion

      2012, Differentiation
      Citation Excerpt :

      Other potential risk factors for AVSD include urinary tract infection during the first trimester of pregnancy (Cleves et al., 2008), maternal use of ibuprofen (Ferencz et al., 1997), moderate to heavy maternal cigarette use (Ferencz et al., 1997; Malik et al., 2008), maternal use of cocaine (Ferencz et al., 1997) and maternal exposure to paint, varnishes, and ionizing radiation (Cleves et al., 2008; Ferencz et al., 1997; Malik et al., 2008). Ostium secundum defects have been linked to pre-pregnancy obesity (Gilboa et al., 2010), maternal use of β blockers (Caton et al., 2009), alcohol (Tikkanen and Heinonen, 1991), cigarette use (Kallen, 1999), and maternal age higher than 34 (Ferencz et al., 1997). Much like their morphological features, classification, and clinical presentation, the etiology of septal defects is complex.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text