Chromosomal abnormalities: subgroup analysis by maternal age and perinatal features in zhejiang province of China, 2011–2015

BACKGROUND: Recently, the prevalence of chromosomal abnormalities (CA) increased as the increasing proportion of mothers with advanced age. We aimed to explore the prevalence of CA in relation to maternal age and perinatal features. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed based on provincial birth defects surveillance data. The relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to calculate maternal age-specific rates of CA. Socio-demographic characteristics of mothers and perinatal features were listed. RESULTS: The total prevalence of CA was 6.38 per 10,000 births, which increased per 10,000 births linearly from 4.02 in 2011 to 9.13 in 2015 (x (2) (line-trend) =52.69, p < 0.001). During this period, the prevalence for CA per 10,000 births among women over 35 years old increased from 15.34 in 2011 to 33.82 in 2015 (x (2) (line-trend) =115121.6, p < 0.001). The RR for overall CA, trisomy 21(T21), trisomy 18(T18) and others in mothers 35 years or older were 6.64 (95% CI 5.55 ~ 7.93), 6.83 (95% CI 5.63 ~ 8.30), 4.06 (95% CI 2.09 ~ 7.90) and 7.54 (95% CI 4.02 ~ 14.11) respectively in comparison to mothers aged 25–29 years old. The stillbirths rate for total CA was 76.45%. T21 and T18 were strongly associated with multiple anomalies, especially congenital heart abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CA increased as maternal age increased. Cases with CA were associated with other congenital defects and high mortality risk.