Observational studyBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2016
Prevalence of microcephaly in Europe: population based study.
Observational study in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Congenital Zika syndrome: A systematic review.PloS one · 2020Pooled it
- Maternal infection with Zika virus and prevalence of congenital disorders in infants: systematic review and meta-analysis.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2019Pooled it
- Microcephaly Prevalence in Infants Born to Zika Virus-Infected Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2017Pooled it
- Architects of the Developing Brain: Cytoskeleton-Organizing Molecules in Neurodevelopmental Disorders.Cells · 2026Review
- Genetic architecture and prognostic significance of suspected fetal microcephaly: evidence from prenatal exome sequencing in a large prospective cohort.Human genomics · 2026Article
- CETN3 deficiency induces microcephaly by disrupting neural stem/progenitor cell fate through impaired centrosome assembly and RNA splicing.EMBO molecular medicine · 2025Article
- In Utero MR Imaging for Fetuses with Small Head Sizes without Intracranial Abnormalities Detected on Ultrasonography.AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology · 2025Article
- Whole-exome sequencing reveals a novel variant in two Iranian families with autosomal recessive primary microcephaly.Molecular biology reports · 2025Article
- Incidence of congenital microcephaly in the Czech Republic: The effect of maternal age.Journal of applied biomedicine · 2025Article
- Adverse fetal and perinatal outcomes associated with Zika virus infection during pregnancy: an individual participant data meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- A Novel Homozygote Pathogenic Variant in the DIAPH1 Gene Associated With Seizures, Cortical Blindness, and Microcephaly Syndrome (SCBMS): Report of a Family and Literature Review.Molecular genetics & genomic medicine · 2024Review
- Microcephaly in Infants: A Retrospective Cohort Study from TurkeyJournal of clinical research in pediatric endocrinology · 2024Article
- Genetic diagnosis of fetal microcephaly at a single tertiary center in China.Frontiers in genetics · 2023Article
- Transcription factors in microcephaly.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- The impact of TP53 activation and apoptosis in primary hereditary microcephaly.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Review
- Prevalence of microcephaly and Zika virus infection in a pregnancy cohort in Kenya, 2017-2019.BMC medicine · 2022Article
- Risk Measurement of Perinatal and Neonatal Morbidity Characteristics and Applicability of GAIA Case Definitions: Results and Lessons Learnt of a Hospital-Based Prospective Cohort Study in the Valencia Region (2019-2020).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Prevalence of congenital microcephaly and its risk factors in an area at risk of Zika outbreaks.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Article
- Reassessment of the risk of birth defects due to Zika virus in Guadeloupe, 2016.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
30 authors at 20 institutions in 14 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo provide contemporary estimates of the prevalence of microcephaly in Europe, determine if the diagnosis of microcephaly is consistent across Europe, and evaluate whether changes in prevalence would be detected using the current European surveillance performed by EUROCAT (the European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies).
designQuestionnaire and population based observational study.
setting24 EUROCAT registries covering 570 000 births annually in 15 countries.
participantsCases of microcephaly not associated with a genetic condition among live births, fetal deaths from 20 weeks' gestation, and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly at any gestation.
main outcome measuresPrevalence of microcephaly (1 Jan 2003-31 Dec 2012) analysed with random effects Poisson regression models to account for heterogeneity across registries.
results16 registries responded to the questionnaire, of which 44% (7/16) used the EUROCAT definition of microcephaly (a reduction in the size of the brain with a skull circumference more than 3 SD below the mean for sex, age, and ethnic origin), 19% (3/16) used a 2 SD cut off, 31% (5/16) were reliant on the criteria used by individual clinicians, and one changed criteria between 2003 and 2012. Prevalence of microcephaly in Europe was 1.53 (95% confidence interval 1.16 to 1.96) per 10 000 births, with registries varying from 0.4 (0.2 to 0.7) to 4.3 (3.6 to 5.0) per 10 000 (χ(2)=338, df=23, I(2)=93%). Registries with a 3 SD cut off reported a prevalence of 1.74 per 10 000 (0.86 to 2.93) compared with those with the less stringent 2 SD cut off of 1.21 per 10 000 (0.21 to 2.93). The prevalence of microcephaly would need to increase in one year by over 35% in Europe or by over 300% in a single registry to reach statistical significance (P<0.01).
conclusionsEUROCAT could detect increases in the prevalence of microcephaly from the Zika virus of a similar magnitude to those observed in Brazil. Because of the rarity of microcephaly and discrepant diagnostic criteria, however, the smaller increases expected in Europe would probably not be detected. Clear diagnostic criteria for microcephaly must be adopted across Europe.
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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.