Cleft lip and palate and periconception COVID-19 infection in five arab countries

• Published in: Clinical oral investigations 2024-10, Vol.28 (11), p.586, Article 586
• Main Authors: Sabbagh, Heba Jafar, Zeinalddin, Mohammad, Al-Batayneh, Ola B., Al Bulushi, Taimoor, AboulHassan, Mamdouh A., Koraitim, Mohamed, Alkharafi, Lateefa, Almuqbali, Buthaina, Alghamdi, Sultan Musaad, Bahdila, Dania, Refahee, Shaimaa Mohsen, Quritum, Maryam, Taqi, Fatemah Fahad, Albassam, Bader, Ayed, Mariam, Embaireeg, Alia, Alnahdi, Raqiya, AlSharif, Mona Talal, Aljohar, Aziza Johar, Abdulhameed, Fatma Dawood, Alrejaye, Najla Sulaiman, Viswapurna, P. S., Al Halasa, Tamara, El Tantawi, Maha, Basri, Osama Adel, Alamoudi, Rana A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Birth defects; Cleft Lip - epidemiology; Cleft lip/palate; Cleft Palate - epidemiology; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dentistry; Dietary supplements; Fear; Female; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Infections; Male; Maternal & child health; Medicine; Middle East - epidemiology; Pandemics; Phenotypes; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious - epidemiology; SARS-CoV-2; Severity of Illness Index
• ISSN: 1436-3771; 1432-6981; 1436-3771
• DOI: 10.1007/s00784-024-05978-8

Background Little is known about factors associated with the severity of cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) especially during the COVID-19 pandemic with its dramatic changes. Objectives The aim of this multi-national study is to measure the association between CL/P severity, COVID-19 infection, and fear of COVID-19 in five Arab countries. Methods This cross-sectional study took place in major governmental hospitals in five Arab countries from November 2020 to April 2023. Participants were infants born with CL/P and their mothers who were in their 1st trimester during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical examination was carried out, and CL/P cases were grouped according to phenotype: cleft lip and palate (CLP) versus cleft lip (CL), cleft extension (incomplete versus complete), and site (unilateral versus bilateral) to assess severity. Information on maternal COVID-19 infection and fear of COVID-19 were gathered. Results The study recruited 273 CL/P infants. Maternal COVID-19 infection during one-month pre-gestation and 1st trimester was significantly associated with higher odds of CL/P severity (AOR = 2.707; P  = 0.002) than mothers without the COVID-19 infection. Using supplements during pregnancy showed a protective effect (AOR = 0.573; P  = 0.065). Conclusion Mothers infected with COVID-19 before and during pregnancy had more than twofold higher odds of having an infant with a more severe CL/P phenotype.