ArticlePloS one2024
Prevalence and risk of occurrence of visible birth defects in mining areas in South Kivu: A hospital-based cross-sectional study.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Anterior abdominal wall agenesis associated with cardiac exstrophy and macrocephaly in a gold mining area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: management and prognosis in a resource-limited area.Maternal health, neonatology and perinatology · 2025Article
- Community transmission of mpox clade Ib not driven through sexual exposures, Uvira, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, June to October 2024.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2025Article
- Surgical long-term outcomes of Hirschsprung Disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo: a case series of 31 patients in a resource-limited setting.BMC surgery · 2025Article
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11 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPossible contamination related to mining activities might contribute with other risk factors in increasing the burden of birth defects (BDs) in many developing countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo. The subsequent prevalence is frequently underestimated. Implementation of focused public health interventions is hindered by the paucity of comprehensive data. We assessed the potential impact of mining on the prevalence and occurrence of visible BDs in neonates in South Kivu (SK).
methodsA hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 65,474 newborns registered in 7 hospitals in SK from 2016-2021. Hospitals were categorized based on mining activities in their respective catchment areas. Living in a mining zone was the exposure, whereas the outcome was visible BDs. Prevalence was estimated per 100,000 live births, and risk of occurrence with odds ratio (OR) and their 95% confidence interval.
results261 neonates with visible BDs were recorded accounting for a prevalence of 399 cases per 100,000 live births. The prevalence ranges between 217 and 1365 cases per 100,000 live births. An increased risk was found in mining zones(OR=2.07; 95%CI=1.59-2.68), Mubumbano(OR=1.72, 95%CI=1.22-2.43), and Mwenga(OR=3.89, 95%CI=2.73-5.54), whereas a reduced risk was reported in non-mining zones(OR=0.48, 95%CI=0.37-0.62) in Katana (OR=0.49, 95%CI=0.33-0.73). Musculoskeletal(28.74%) and central nervous systems(19.92%) were the most common BDs. A significant difference in prevalence for BDs involving the face, GI system and abdominal wall, musculoskeletal, central nervous and genitourinary systems between mining and non-mining zones was found(p<0.001).
conclusionThere is an excessive risk for visible BDs in areas with hazardous mining activities in SK region. More complex studies are needed to define the possible causal relationship. Moreover, findings generated herein should be corroborated by other research design, periodically monitored by public health authorities, and used to inform initiatives promoting enhanced environmental health, access to pediatric surgical care, and public health campaigns aimed at decreasing risk of BDs.
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