Prevalence and Patterns of Orofacial Clefts among Children from Different Regions of Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Aim and objective: To report on the prevalence and patterns of orofacial clefts (OFC) among Saudi Arabian children by analyzing the results of the studies that have been reported in the literature. Materials and methods: A data search was carried out for the articles that had reported on the prevalence of OFC among the Saudi Arabian population in databases like Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Saudi Digital Library. Articles that were published over the last 15 years were included in this study, following which 13 studies were assessed for qualitative data. Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment Scales for cross-sectional studies were used for analyzing the methodological quality of these studies. Results: The prevalence of OFC was within the range of 0.65–1.9/1,000 live births. The highest was witnessed in the Medina region. Parent’s consanguinity was the most common risk factor in OFC cases in the included studies. OFC was found to be higher among the male population in comparison with the female. Conclusion: The prevalence of OFC in Saudi Arabian children follows the global patterns of OFC. Isolated cleft lip (CL) and cleft palate (CP) are the most common forms of OFC. The prevalence of orofacial anomalies was reported more among children born to parents who had consanguineous marriages. Considering the higher rate of consanguinity among this population, there is an urgent need of developing educational and counseling programs to address the genetic consequences.