You are here:

  • Print

released: 5 Nov 2008 author: Abeywardana S & Sullivan EA media release

This report describes the prevalence and trends of neural tube defects (NTD) in Australia during the past decade. An estimated prevalence of NTD among pregnancies is presented based on the information from states that collect near complete data on NTD. Characteristics and outcomes of the births and pregnancy characteristics of the mothers are presented for the period 1998-2005. The purpose of compiling this national report is to provide baseline prevalence of NTD, prior to the implementation of mandatory folic acid fortification of bread flour in September 2009. This report is produced by the AIHW National Perinatal Statistics unit and will be of interest to staff of state and territory birth defect registers and perinatal data collections, health professionals, health and welfare planners, policy makers, researchers, students and consumers.

ISBN 978 1 74024 854 9; Cat. no. PER 45; 86pp.; $24.00

printed copy

Publication

Publication table of contents

  • Preliminary material
    • Half title and verso pages
    • Title and verso pages
    • Contents
    • Acknowledgments
    • Acronyms and abbreviations
    • Summary
    • Introduction
  • Body section
    • Background
      • Development and outcomes of neural tube defects
      • Diagnosis of neural tube defects
      • Aetiology
      • Prevention of neural tube defects
      • Mandatory folic acid fortification in Australia
      • Prevalence of neural tube defects in other countries
      • Benefits and risks of folic acid fortification
    • Methods
      • Data sources
      • Analysis
    • Neural tube defects among births
      • Prevalence among births
      • Characteristics of births with neural tube defects Australia 1998-2005
      • Characteristics of women who gave birth to babies with neural tube defects, Australia, 1998-2005
    • All neural tube defects among births and terminations of pregnancy
      • Prevalence
      • Characteristics of women who had pregnancies affected with neural tube defects
    • Prevalence of neural tube defects among births by individual states
    • Estimated prevalence of NTD based on data from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia
    • Anencephaly
      • Prevalence
      • Prevalence of anencephaly in other countries/regions
      • Characteristics
    • Spina bifida
      • Prevalence
      • Prevalence of spina bifida in other countries
      • Characteristics
    • Encephalocele
      • Prevalence
      • Prevalence of encephalocele in other countries/regions
      • Characteristics
    • Conclusions and recommendations
  • End matter
    • Data development
    • Appendixes
      1. Denominator data
        • National Congenital Anomalies Steering Committee
        • State and Territory Implementation Committee for Congenital Anomalies
    • References
    • List of tables
    • List of figures

Recommended citation

Abeywardana S & Sullivan EA 2008. Neural tube defects in Australia. Cat. no. PER 45. Canberra: AIHW.