Resgistration and prevention of congenital anomalies.

As the relative contribution of congenital anomalies to infant mortality and morbidity increases, insight into their etiology becomes more and more important. A decrease of the prevalence of these anomalies is of major importance, as was stated in the WHO programme "Health for all by the year 2000". At present, in about 80% of cases the etiology of congenital anomalies is either multifactorial or unknown (Chapter 1,). When the etiology of an anomaly is ultifactorial, the individual genetic and environmental factors involved are unknown in almost all cases. In 1974 the Committee of Medical and Public Health Research of the European Community (EC) decided to set up a network of registrations of congenital anomalies in EC member states to increase the knowledge of the occurrence of congenital anomalies. This network was called EUROCAT: EUropean Registration Of Congenital Anomalies. In 1974 this network consisted of a total of 24 regionial registrations in 13 countries, covering more than 380,000 births annually, with a central facility for coordination and research in Brussels (Chapter 2.2). ... Zie: Summar