Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Anencephaly by Year, New Jersey, 2000 to 2021
Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
Anencephaly is a serious and rare birth defect which occurs when an embryo's neural tube fails to close during the first month of pregnancy. As a result, major portions of the brain, skull, and scalp fail to develop. A baby born with anencephaly may be stillborn or die within a few hours or days after birth. The cause of anencephaly is unknown, but it is hypothesized that a mother's diet and vitamin intake play a role. Recent studies have shown that addition of folic acid to the diet of females of childbearing age may significantly reduce the overall incidence of neural tube defects.
Definition
Number of children with anencephaly delivered per 10,000 live births and stillbirths to women residing in New Jersey in a specified time interval.
Data Notes
**Counts and rates are suppressed for years when counts are below 5 due to instability of rates. Observed differences in the annual frequency of a specific birth defect may be due to random variability.Data Sources
- Early Identification and Monitoring Program, Division of Family Health Services, New Jersey Department of Health
(https://www.nj.gov/health/fhs/eis/) - Birth Certificate Database and Fetal Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, NJDOH
(https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/)
How the Measure is Calculated
Numerator:
Number of children with anencephaly delivered among live births and stillbirths to women residing in New Jersey in a specified time interval.Denominator:
Count of all live births and stillbirths to women residing in New Jersey in a specified time interval.
Related Health Objectives and Indicators
Environmental Public Health Tracking Indicator BD-1
Description: Prevalence of anencephalyhttps://ephtracking.cdc.gov/indicatorPages?selectedContentAreaAbbreviation=5&selectedIndicatorId=1