ArticleBJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology2008
Survey of prenatal screening policies in Europe for structural malformations and chromosome anomalies, and their impact on detection and termination rates for neural tube defects and Down's syndrome.
Article in BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Clinical and cost-effectiveness of detailed anomaly ultrasound screening in the first trimester: a mixed-methods study.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Termination of pregnancy for fetal anomaly: a systematic review of the healthcare experiences and needs of parents.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Pooled it
- Prenatal and Postnatal Therapies for Down's Syndrome and Associated Developmental Anomalies and Degenerative Deficits: A Systematic Review of Guidelines and Trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Global Birth Prevalence of Spina Bifida by Folic Acid Fortification Status: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.American journal of public health · 2016Pooled it
- Medical methods for mid-trimester termination of pregnancy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2011Pooled it
- Birth defects among a cohort of infants born to HIV-infected women on antiretroviral medication.Journal of perinatal medicine · 2011Trial
- Alpha-Fetoprotein as a Biomarker in Pregnancy: From Genetic Disorders to Obstetric Complications.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- The law on voluntary termination of pregnancy in Argentina: impact on the epidemiological situation of congenital anomalies and prenatal diagnostic health services.Journal of community genetics · 2026Article
- Impact of National Screening Programs on Down syndrome prevalence and outcomes.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2026Article
- Article
- Termination of pregnancy for medical indications: A 14-year analysis from a tertiary referral center.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025Observational
- Prevalence of Down Syndrome in Croatia in the Period from 2014 to 2024.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Termination Processes of Pregnancies Due to Intrauterine Mort Fetus and Fetal Anomaly.Maternal-fetal medicine (Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.) · 2025Article
- The impact of prenatal ultrasound screening on termination of pregnancy with and without feticide: a retrospective analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Factors affecting parental decisions for termination of pregnancy in the presence of a prenatal trisomy 21 diagnosis.Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2025Article
- Neonatal Mortality Disparities by Gestational Age in European Countries.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- The Role of Social Determinants in Diagnosis Timing for Fetal Care Center-Eligible Conditions: A Scoping Review.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The expressivist argument for recent policy changes regarding the provision of prenatal testing in Japan.Global bioethics = Problemi di bioetica · 2024Article
- Article
- Cell-free DNA-based prenatal screening via rolling circle amplification: Identifying and resolving analytic issues.Journal of medical screening · 2023Article
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo 'map' the current (2004) state of prenatal screening in Europe.
design(i) Survey of country policies and (ii) analysis of data from EUROCAT (European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies) population-based congenital anomaly registers.
settingEurope. POPULATION: Survey of prenatal screening policies in 18 countries and 1.13 million births in 12 countries in 2002-04.
methods(i) Questionnaire on national screening policies and termination of pregnancy for fetal anomaly (TOPFA) laws in 2004. (ii) Analysis of data on prenatal detection and termination for Down's syndrome and neural tube defects (NTDs) using the EUROCAT database.
main outcome measuresExistence of national prenatal screening policies, legal gestation limit for TOPFA, prenatal detection and termination rates for Down's syndrome and NTD.
resultsTen of the 18 countries had a national country-wide policy for Down's syndrome screening and 14/18 for structural anomaly scanning. Sixty-eight percent of Down's syndrome cases (range 0-95%) were detected prenatally, of which 88% resulted in termination of pregnancy. Eighty-eight percent (range 25-94%) of cases of NTD were prenatally detected, of which 88% resulted in termination. Countries with a first-trimester screening policy had the highest proportion of prenatally diagnosed Down's syndrome cases. Countries with no official national Down's syndrome screening or structural anomaly scan policy had the lowest proportion of prenatally diagnosed Down's syndrome and NTD cases. Six of the 18 countries had a legal gestational age limit for TOPFA, and in two countries, termination of pregnancy was illegal at any gestation.
conclusionsThere are large differences in screening policies between countries in Europe. These, as well as organisational and cultural factors, are associated with wide country variation in prenatal detection rates for Down's syndrome and NTD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.