Congenital talipes equinovarus: an epidemiological study in Sicily

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Congenital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot) can present in 2 forms: “syndromic”, in which other malformations exist, and the more common “idiopathic” form, where there are no other associated malformations. We analyzed the epidemiology of congenital talipes equinovarus in the Sicilian population, looking for potential etiological factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among the 801,324 live births recorded between January 1991 and December 2004, 827 cases were registered (560 males; M/F sex ratio: 2.1). Control infants were randomly selected from a historical cohort of live births without any major congenital malformations. RESULTS: A positive family history of clubfoot, gender, and maternal smoking were found to be risk factors for clubfoot. Patients with clubfoot were born most frequently during the period January–March. No association was found between clubfoot and reproductive history, peri-conceptional maternal drug exposure, maternal education, or ethnicity. INTERPRETATION: Our findings emphasize the importance of birth defects surveillance programs and their usefulness in investigating potential risk factors.