11 Jul Dramatic Increase in the Number of US Adults Living With Congenital Heart Defects
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Suzanne Gilboa
Suzanne Meredith Gilboa, PhD
Epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Because of advancements in care, there has been a decline in mortality from congenital heart defects (CHD) over the last several decades. However, there are no current empirical data documenting the number of people living with CHD in the United States (US).
The purpose of this study was to estimate the congenital heart defects prevalence across all age groups in the US for the year 2010. Using prevalence data from Québec, Canada in the year 2010 as a foundation for a mathematical model, we estimated that approximately 2.4 million people (1.4 million adults, 1 million children) were living with CHD in the US in the year 2010. Nearly 300,000 subjects had severe CHD. Overall, there was a slight predominance of females compared to males.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: This current estimate of 1.4 million adults with CHD in 2010 corresponds to a 63% increase in the estimated size of the adult population with congenital heart defects since the year 2000. These results highlight the need for two important efforts:
(1) planning for health services delivery to meet the needs of the growing population of adults with CHD and;
(2) the development of surveillance data across the lifespan to provide empirical estimates of the prevalence of CHD across all age groups in the US.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: This study highlights the need for United States surveillance data across the lifespan, so that we can have empirical (rather than modeled) estimates of the prevalence of congenital heart defects across the lifespan.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: Resource allocation for health services delivery will need to account for this growing population of adults with congenital heart defects.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Congenital Heart Defects in the United States: Estimating the Magnitude of the Affected Population in 2010
Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.
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Last Updated on July 11, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD