TY - EJOU
AU - Pfitzer, Constanze
AU - Helm, Paul C.
AU - Ferentzi, Hannah
AU - Rosenthal, Lisa-Maria
AU - Bauer, Ulrike M. M.
AU - Berger, Felix
AU - Schmitt, Katharina R. L.
TI - Changing prevalence of severe congenital heart disease: Results from the National Register for Congenital Heart Defects in Germany
T2 - Congenital Heart Disease
PY - 2017
VL - 12
IS - 6
SN - 1747-0803
AB - Objective: To assess the prevalence of congenital heart disease (CHD) in Germany in relation to
phenotypes, severity and gender.
Design: Cross-sectional registry study.
Setting: We analyzed data from patients with CHD born between 1996 and 2015.
Patients: A total of 26 630 patients, registered with the NRCHD, were born between 1996 and
2015. 10 927 patients were excluded from the current analysis due to prior registration with the
NRCHD under the German PAN Prevalence Study, which showed a potential bias in the inclusion
of this patient population (proportion of mild cardiac lesions was comparatively high due to
improved diagnostic capability for earlier identifying minor lesions). At least 15 703 patients with
demographic data and detailed medical information were included in the current study.
Interventions: None.
Outcome Measures: Prevalence of CHD in Germany differentiated into gender, severity, and
phenotype.
Results: In total, 15 703 patients with CHD (47.1% female) were included in this study. The five
most common phenotypes were found to be ventricular septal defect (19.2%), atrial septal defect
(13.0%), Tetralogy of Fallot (9.3%), univentricular heart (9.4%), and coractation of the aortae
(7.0%). The prevalence of CHD in regard to severity changed over the duration of the observation
period. From 1996 to 2007, the number of simple CHD rose steadily (P< .001), whereas the number of severe CHD has grown significantly since 2008/2009 (P < .001). In regard to gender, the
prevalence of simple CHD was higher in females, whereas complex lesions were more common in
males (P < .001).
Conclusions: Our study shows a growing number of registered severe CHD in the recent decade
in Germany. This development is noteworthy as it implicates a growing demand for first intensive
hospital care, expert pediatric cardiologic aftercare, and consequently higher economic impact for
this patient population.
KW - congenital heart disease
KW - prenatal diagnostic
KW - prevalence
DO - 10.1111/chd.12515