Assessment the risk factors of congenital heart disease among children below 5 years age in Babylon province

Abstract

Background: Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) account for 25% of all congenital malformations. CHDs are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Prevention of CHDs can be achieved by preventing exposure to modifiable risk factors that affect the cardiac development during pregnancy. Objectives: To assess the sociodemographic and medical risk factors of congenital heart diseases among children below five years in Babylon city, Iraq. Materials and Methods: A retrospective case control study conducted from 1st of February to 1st of May, 2022, at Shaheed Al-Mehrab center, Babylon Maternity/Pediatric Hospital and Al-Imam Al-Sadik General Teaching Hospital, consisted of 100 participants classified to 50 CHDs cases and 50 controls by Echocardiogram, the mother/caregiver of each child was interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire. Results: The age of the participants ranged from one day to 4.5 years, with a mean age (10.4 ± 13.2) months. (52%) of CHDs cases were females, (68%) of them were below one year age and (54%) of them reside in urban area, 28% of CHDs was VSD and 42% of the cases present with chest infection. BMI percentile was significantly lower in cases of CHDs (P = 0.008) and there was a significant relationship between CHDs and family history of CHDs (P = 0.013). Conclusion: Majority of the cases were females, below one year age and reside in urban area, presented with VSD and chest infection. BMI percentile was lower in cases of CHDs and there was a significant relationship between CHDs and family history of CHDs.