Limb reduction defects in the northern region of England 1985-92

Abstract

Study objective - To test the hypothesis that children born to mothers living near the sea are at increased risk of limb reduction defects. Design - Descriptive data analysis. Setting - The northern health region of England. Patients - All children born between 1 January 1985 and 31 December 1992 in the northern region of England with isolated limb reduction defects. Main results - The birth prevalence of isolated limb reduction defects was not affected by the distance the mother lived from the sea. There was some evidence of space-time clustering, but there was no evidence of statistically significant variation in the occurrence of the condition with sex, time of birth (monthly or yearly), or county of birth. Conclusions - There is no evidence that children born to mothers living near the sea are at increased risk of limb reduction defects.