[ad_1]
Serious conbad anomaly rates are on the rise in the United States and a new report suggests that this condition could be related to opioid use.
The report, published January 17 by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, examines cases of gastroschisis, a birth defect in which a baby is born with the intestines outside the body, because a hole in the abdominal wall. Surgery is needed to put the bowels back into the body and repair the hole, but even after this treatment, infants may have problems with digestion, diet, and absorption of food, according to the CDC. The cause of the disease is generally unknown, but mothers under 20 are thought to be at higher risk than older mothers.
The new report badyzed information on cases of gastroschisis in 20 US states and found that the gastroschisis rate increased by 10% between 2006 and 2010, between 2011 and 2015. Specifically, the report revealed that the gastroschisis rate had increased from 4.2 cases per 10,000 live births in 2006-2010 to 4.5 cases per 10,000 live births in 2011-2015. The largest increases were in babies born to mothers aged 20 to 30 years. [7 Baby Myths Debunked]
The new report follows a previous study that found that gastroschisis rates also increased between 1995 and 2012.
The reason for this increase is not known, but the new report mentions a link with the opioid epidemic. The researchers found that the prevalence of gastroschisis was 1.6 times higher in counties with high rates of prescription opioid use, compared to counties with a low rate of onset of opioids. prescription opioids.
Nevertheless, the researchers noted that the study only established one badociation and could not prove that the use of opioids was the cause of gastroschisis. The study examined the use of opioids and gastroschisis rates only at the population level and did not have information to know whether women who had babies with gastroschisis were exposed to opioids.
Dr. Saima Aftab, Medical Director of Fetal Care Center of Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami, who did not participate in the study, said that this increase in the number of cases of gastroschisis is concern. And the fact that rates are rising not only in women under 20, considered most at risk, but also in older age groups is "even more alarming," Aftab told Live Science. This suggests that there is "something that is changing" in the usual patterns of epidemiology of gastroschisis.
Aftab noted that she and her colleagues had also noticed an increase in the number of gastroschisis cases in the fetal program of their hospital, even in the last six months.
Gastroschisis is a serious condition that can cause swelling, twisting, and injury to the baby's bowels before birth, Aftab said. Even after surgery, the intestines can take weeks to work, and babies can stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for several months, she explained.
The link with opioids seen in the new report is an interesting signal, Aftab said, although she also warned that the report could not determine causality.
But "it tells us where we need to lead our research and how we can answer those questions," she said. For example, basic animal science can determine whether opioids disrupt blood vessels or intestinal tissue during pregnancy. Researchers can also determine if there is a link between populations of high-risk women who use opioids during pregnancy.
"Better understanding all the possible effects of opioid use during pregnancy can help provide health care providers and women with factual information about the potential risks to the developing fetus," the report concludes.
Originally published on Science live.
[ad_2]
Source link
