Background: Congenital anomalies of birth defects are among the leading causes of infant mortality and morbidity around the world. The impact of congenital anomalies is particularly severe in middle – and low-income countries like Tanzania where health care resources are limited. The prevalence of congenital anomalies varies in different parts of the world, which could reflect different etiological factors in different geographical regions.
Methodology: This was retrospective hospital based study which was done at Simiyu regional referral hospital involving infant admitted from January 2017 to December 2018. Infants with no specific anomaly were not included in the study. Case files were used to collect infant’s information involving about 114 samples. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20.
Results: Among 114 cases files sampled for the study, boys were 69 (60.5%) and girls were 45 (39.5%). Musculoskeletal system was most commonly affected system 56 (50.9%) followed by cardiovascular system 20 (17.5%). There was significant association between congenital anomalies and age groups (P=0.01) were the most age group affected was between 9-12 months 34 (29.8%), also there was significant association between congenital anomalies and sex (P=0.04) boys 69 (60.5%) girls 45 (39.5%). There was no significant association between congenital anomalies and residence area.
Conclusion: The prevalence of congenital anomalies in the patients study is 0.8%. There is need of proper registry of cases which would help to identify the magnitude of the problem, pattern of the distribution and also gives some clue regarding the etiology.
Keywords: Congenital Anomalies, Mortality and Morbidity, Infants, Etiology factor.
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