The investigation of the patients with neural tube defects in Duzce province

Neural tube defect (NTD) is the result of the errors of neural tube closure in an embryo. NTDs are the anomalies of the central nervous system, can be detected in utero by fetal ultrasound. All over the world the incidence of all forms of NTDs is between1.4 to 2 per 1000 live births. We aimed to evaluate the factors that influence the etiology of NTD in our study. The patients undergoing termination of NTDs incompatible with life in Duzce University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and treated with the diagnosis of NTDs in Duzce University, Department of Pediatrics between May 2010 to May 2013 were included in this study. The patients who gave birth one healthy live baby in Düzce province were considered as control group. The study group was consisted of 30 patients, and the control consisted of 30 patients. The folic acid supplementation during preconception period or first trimester, age, spouse's age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), occupation, spouse's profession, gravida, parity, smoking, alcohol use, family marriage, infertility history, and difference of body mass index between the gestational and preconception period were compared. A protective effect of the folic acid supplementation during pregnancy against the development of neural tube defects (NTDs), was found in our study (p=0,018). There was a moderate association between the number of gravidity and the risk of fetal NTDs (p=0,015 and rr=0,314). The level of education of mother and father's profession were the other factors affecting the risk of NTDs (p= 0,012 and p=0,017). Randomized and controlled studies on larger patient population are needed in order to unravel the underlying a etiology of NTDs in our county. KeyWords: Düzce; Neural tube defect; risk.