|
|
News from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Birth
Defects Surveillance System at UAMS Is One of Nation’s Best
|
MAY
9, 2002 | The birth defects surveillance system at the
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is
one of the best in the nation, a public health group
recently reported.
The Arkansas system is one of only eight in the U.S.,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico to earn an “A” from the Trust
for America’s Health, an organization that
promotes research and public policy for public health.
|
|
|
The
Arkansas
Reproductive Health Monitoring System
(ARHMS) is the foundation of the Arkansas Center for
Birth Defects Research and Prevention, a joint program
of UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH). The
center records information about cases of birth defects
so that researchers can study possible genetic or
geographic factors in birth defects.
The
Arkansas center is one of eight funded by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and participates in the National
Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). The NBDPS is a
case-control study that gathers information about environmental
and genetic risk factors for 30 major structural birth defects.
Researchers interview mothers of children with and without birth
defects and obtain cheek cell samples from the children and
their parents.
Charlotte A. Hobbs, M.D., Ph.D., is co-director of the UAMS-ACH
center and an assistant professor in the Department of
Pediatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine.
She
performs genetic analyses of complex human diseases,
specifically using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
detection, sequencing, in large epidemiologic studies of
families with congenital malformations. (See more
information about birth defects research at UAMS.)
Some states do not even have such monitoring systems, also known
as registries. Many states operate systems but do not meet
minimum standards. Trust for America’s Health estimates that a
quarter of all birth defects cases are not registered, so that
analyses of birth defects according to demographic data could be
skewed. The organization recommended that states and the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spend more to
expand and strengthen birth defects registries. (See the
organization’s full
report.)
” Without knowing the causes of birth defects, we are helpless
to prevent them
… Unfortunately, the causes of most birth defects are
still unknown. … Exposure to environmental hazards may play a
role in some birth defects. However, researchers lack essential
data to explore these and other links,” the authors of the
Trust report wrote.
The ARHMS began operation in 1979 as a joint project of the
Department of Pediatrics in the UAMS College of Medicine and
Arkansas Children’s Hospital. The Arkansas General Assembly
provided funding for the system beginning in 1985. In 1992, the
system expanded from surveying births in central Arkansas to the
entire state. It received designation as a Center for Excellence
in Research and Prevention of Birth Defects from the CDC in
1997.
The other seven states that earned A’s from the Trust are
California, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and
Texas. Arkansas also received an A in 2000.
Links on This Page
Tobacco
Funds: http://www.uams.edu/today/2002/042502/ABI.htm
Arkansas Receives: http://www.uams.edu/info/pdfs/bdefects.pdf
Trust for America’s Health: http://healthyamericans.org/
Arkansas Reproductive Health Monitoring System: http://arbirthdefectsresearch.uams.edu/surveillance.htm
More information: http://www.uams.edu/research/Articles/2001.07.htm
Full report: http://healthyamericans.org/state/birthdefects/#
© 2002 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). A
single copy of these materials may be reprinted for
noncommercial personal use only. “UAMS,” “UAMS Medical
Center,” “UAMS Online,” “UAMS Today,” “uams.edu,”
and “Here’s to Your Health” are marks of UAMS.
|
03/29/05 |
E-mail This Article