Regional patterns of infant mortality caused by lethal congenital anomalies

Purpose: To assess the regional patterns of infant mortality due to lethal congenital anomalies, and the potential reasons for the regional; patterns. Method: The study analyzed 2,507 infant deaths due to lethal congenital ano malies among 1,178,452 live births in 9 of the 12 Canadian provinces and te rritories from 1990 to 1995 recorded in Statistics Canada's live birth and death data bases. Results: Compared with the province of Quebec, congenital anomaly-attribute d infant mortality was higher in Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. T hese differences in infant mortality were substantial for cardiovascular sy stem anomalies and especially anencephaly. For infant mortality due to chro mosomal anomalies, however, there was little interprovincial variation. Conclusions: Despite substantial recent reductions in lethal congenital ano maly-attributed infant mortality, there remain major regional variations in infant mortality caused by certain forms of congenital anomalies including anencephaly and cardiovascular system anomalies.