Ethnic variations in the estimated prevalence of orofacial clefts in Taiwan, 2004 to 2006

Background: Foreign-born mothers have been reported to have better pregnancy outcomes as measured by the preterm birth rate, neonatal mortality, and birth weight compared with native-born mothers in Belgium, France, Taiwan, and the United States. However, little is known about the association between maternal nationality and the prevalence of orofacial clefts in Asian countries. Methods: Taiwan Birth Registry data from 2004 to 2006 were analyzed for an association between maternal nationality and orofacial clefts. Singleton live births with a gestational age ≥24 weeks were included in this study. Results: The overall estimated prevalence percentages of orofacial clefts were 0.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.03 to 0.12) among newborns of Taiwan-born mothers (TBMs) and 0.13 (95% CI = 0.04 to 0.16) among newborns of foreign-born mothers (FBMs), respectively. The estimated prevalence of orofacial clefts of all live births of FBMs in Taiwan was similar to that of the FBMs from Southeast Asian countries. Conclusion: There was a slightly higher but no significant difference of estimated prevalence of orofacial clefts between newborns of TBMs and newborns of FBMs in Taiwan.