LIMB DEFICIENCIES, CHORION VILLUS SAMPLING, AND ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE

Record linkage between a prenatal diagnosis register and a congenital malformation register in the state of Victoria, Australia, has enabled further evaluation of the suggested association between limb deficien cies and early chorion villus sampling (CVS). We found 3 anomalies in this category after later CVS (i.e., 9 weeks and beyond), but our data suggest that advanced maternal age may be a risk factor for both term inal and all limb deficiencies. The data from Victoria are tabulated w ith data obtained from other registers. Different birth prevalence fig ures are obtained by different registers, therefore limiting compariso ns between registers. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.