The surveillance of birth defects: the usefulness of the revised US standard birth certificate

To assess the sensitivity and positive predictive value of birth defects reported on the 1989 revision of the US Standard Birth Certificate, a population of 76,862 Atlanta-area births during 1989 and 1990 was used as the basis for comparing 771 birth certificates that reported birth defects with 242...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 1996-05, Vol.86 (5), p.731-734
Main Authors: Watkins, M L, Edmonds, L, McClearn, A, Mullins, L, Mulinare, J, Khoury, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Babies
Biological and medical sciences
Birth Certificates
Birth defects
Congenital Abnormalities - epidemiology
Delivery. Postpartum. Lactation
Down syndrome
Female
Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics
Health surveillance
Hospitals
Humans
Identification documents
Infant, Newborn
Information sources
Male
Maternal, fetal and perinatal monitoring
Medical records
Medical sciences
Multiple births
Population
Population Surveillance - methods
Public health
Reporting
Sensitivity and Specificity
Spina bifida
Surveillance
United States - epidemiology
USA
Validity
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Summary:To assess the sensitivity and positive predictive value of birth defects reported on the 1989 revision of the US Standard Birth Certificate, a population of 76,862 Atlanta-area births during 1989 and 1990 was used as the basis for comparing 771 birth certificates that reported birth defects with 2428 live-born infant records in a birth defects registry that uses multiple sources of case ascertainment. Only 14% of birth defects in the registry records were reported on birth certificates. After the analysis was restricted to defects recognizable at birth, the sensitivity and positive predictive value of the birth certificates were 28% and 77%, respectively. Birth certificates underestimate birth defect rates and should be used cautiously for birth defect surveillance and epidemiological studies.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.86.5.731