Maternal characteristics and birth outcomes of pregnant women who had offspring with congenital ear abnormalities - a population-based case-control study.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the maternal characteristics and birth outcomes of newborn infants affected with isolated ear congenital abnormalities (IECA), mainly isolated anotia/microtia and unclassified multiple congenital abnormalities (CAs) including anotia/microtia (UMAM).

METHOD: Cases with IECA and UMAM were compared with their matched controls and all controls without any defect and malformed controls affected with other defects in the population-based large dataset of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance of Congenital Abnormalities.

RESULTS

The mothers of 354 cases with IECA did not show significant difference in age, but their mean birth order was higher while their socio-economic status based on the maternal employment status was lower compared to the figures of their matched controls. There was a male excess among cases with microtia and mainly with UMAM. The evaluation of birth outcomes of newborns affected with IECA indicated intrauterine fetal growth retardation.

CONCLUSIONS

Newborn infants with isolated microtia had intrauterine growth retardation and the association of this developmental defect localized for a small region of head with the general fetal development raises interesting theoretical question.