ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Health Serv.
Sec. Health Policy and Management
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frhs.2025.1657703
This article is part of the Research TopicPerspectives and Opinions in Health Services, Volume IIView all 16 articles
Impact of Birth Defect Prevention and Control Programs on Mortality Among Children with Birth Defects from 2012-2023 in Shenzhen, China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen, China
- 2Shenzhen Health Development Research and Data Management Center, Shenzhen, China
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Background: Birth defects are an important cause of fetal and neonatal mortality and represent a major global public health concern. Shenzhen has implemented several prevention and control programs in recent years. However, the effectiveness in reducing mortality among affected children has not been systematically evaluated. Objective: To assess the impact of birth defect prevention and control programs on mortality among children with birth defects in Shenzhen from 2012 to 2023, and to provide evidence for program evaluation and maternal–child health policy development. Methods: All registered cases of children with birth defects in Shenzhen between 2012 and 2023 were included. The study period was divided into three phases according to program implementation: Phase I (2012–2017), Phase II (2018–2021), and Phase III (2022–2023). Mortality outcomes included early fetal death, late fetal death, and early neonatal death. Trends were analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage test with Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for confounders and subgroup analyses were conducted by maternal household registration status (local vs. non-local). Results: From Phase I to Phase III, early fetal mortality increased (26.1% vs. 29.7% vs. 33.4%), whereas late fetal mortality (5.7% vs. 4.1% vs. 3.6%) and early neonatal mortality (1.0% vs. 0.5% vs. 0.3%) declined significantly(P < 0.001 for trends). Logistic regression showed lower risks of late fetal and early neonatal death in Phases II and III compared with Phase I, with greater reductions among children of non-local mothers. Conclusion: Birth defect prevention and control programs in Shenzhen were associated with reduced late fetal and early neonatal mortality, especially in non-local populations, Providing evidence to guide maternal-child health policy.
Keywords: Birth defects, Prevention and control programs, Mortality, Evaluation, Shenzhen
Received: 01 Jul 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Zhao, Zheng and Jin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shuyan Jin, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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