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Loane M, Given JE, Tan J, Reid A, Akhmedzhanova D, Astolfi G, Barišić I, Bertille N, Bonet LB, Carbonell CC, Carollo OM, Coi A, Densem J, Draper E, Garne E, Gatt M, Glinianaia SV, Heino A, Hond ED, Jordan S, Khoshnood B, Kiuru-Kuhlefelt S, Klungsøyr K, Lelong N, Lutke LR, Neville AJ, Ostapchuk L, Puccini A, Rissmann A, Santoro M, Scanlon I, Thys G, Tucker D, Urhoj SK, de Walle HEK, Wellesley D, Zurriaga O, Morris JK. Linking a European cohort of children born with congenital anomalies to vital statistics and mortality records: A EUROlinkCAT study. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0256535. [PMID: 34449798 PMCID: PMC8396745 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
EUROCAT is a European network of population-based congenital anomaly (CA) registries. Twenty-one registries agreed to participate in the EUROlinkCAT study to determine if reliable information on the survival of children born with a major CA between 1995 and 2014 can be obtained through linkage to national vital statistics or mortality records. Live birth children with a CA could be linked using personal identifiers to either their national vital statistics (including birth records, death records, hospital records) or to mortality records only, depending on the data available within each region. In total, 18 of 21 registries with data on 192,862 children born with congenital anomalies participated in the study. One registry was unable to get ethical approval to participate and linkage was not possible for two registries due to local reasons. Eleven registries linked to vital statistics and seven registries linked to mortality records only; one of the latter only had identification numbers for 78% of cases, hence it was excluded from further analysis. For registries linking to vital statistics: six linked over 95% of their cases for all years and five were unable to link at least 85% of all live born CA children in the earlier years of the study. No estimate of linkage success could be calculated for registries linking to mortality records. Irrespective of linkage method, deaths that occurred during the first week of life were over three times less likely to be linked compared to deaths occurring after the first week of life. Linkage to vital statistics can provide accurate estimates of survival of children with CAs in some European countries. Bias arises when linkage is not successful, as early neonatal deaths were less likely to be linked. Linkage to mortality records only cannot be recommended, as linkage quality, and hence bias, cannot be assessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Loane
- Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - J. E. Given
- Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| | - J. Tan
- Population Health Research Institute, St George’s, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - A. Reid
- Population Health Research Institute, St George’s, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - D. Akhmedzhanova
- OMNI-Net for Children International Charitable Fund, Rivne Regional Medical Diagnostic Center, Rivne, Ukraine
| | - G. Astolfi
- Emilia Romagna Registry of Birth Defects, University Hospital of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - I. Barišić
- Klinika za dječje bolesti, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - N. Bertille
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, France
| | - L. B. Bonet
- Rare Diseases Research Unit, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, Valencia, Spain
| | - C. C. Carbonell
- Rare Diseases Research Unit, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, Valencia, Spain
| | | | - A. Coi
- Unit of Epidemiology of Rare Diseases and Congenital Anomalies, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy
| | - J. Densem
- Biomedical Computing Limited, Battle, United Kingdom
| | - E. Draper
- East Midlands & South Yorkshire Congenital Anomaly Registry, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - E. Garne
- Hospital Lillebaelt, Region Syddanmark, Denmark
| | - M. Gatt
- Directorate for Health Information and Research, G’Mangia, Malta
| | - S. V. Glinianaia
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - A. Heino
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland
| | - E. Den Hond
- Provinciaal Instituut voor Hygiëne (PIH), Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - S. Jordan
- Swansea University, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - B. Khoshnood
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, France
| | | | - K. Klungsøyr
- Division of Mental and Physical Health, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - N. Lelong
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, France
| | - L. R. Lutke
- Department of Genetics, University Medical Center, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - A. J. Neville
- Emilia Romagna Registry of Birth Defects, University Hospital of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - L. Ostapchuk
- OMNI-Net for Children International Charitable Fund, Rivne Regional Medical Diagnostic Center, Rivne, Ukraine
| | - A. Puccini
- Territorial Care Service, Emilia Romagna Health Authority, Bologna, Italy
| | - A. Rissmann
- Medical Faculty Otto-von-Guericke, Malformation Monitoring Centre Saxony-Anhalt, University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - M. Santoro
- Unit of Epidemiology of Rare Diseases and Congenital Anomalies, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy
| | - I. Scanlon
- Swansea University, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - G. Thys
- Provinciaal Instituut voor Hygiëne (PIH), Antwerpen, Belgium
| | - D. Tucker
- Public Health Wales, Wales, United Kingdom
| | - S. K. Urhoj
- Section of Epidemiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - H. E. K. de Walle
- Department of Genetics, University Medical Center, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - D. Wellesley
- Wessex Clinical Genetics Service, Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - O. Zurriaga
- Rare Diseases Research Unit, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, Valencia, Spain
| | - J. K. Morris
- Population Health Research Institute, St George’s, University of London, London, United Kingdom
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