{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T15:53:40Z","timestamp":1784735620267,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,1]],"date-time":"2024-05-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1714521600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosglobalpublichealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Glob Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Congenital anomalies in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) are understudied despite the significant pediatric health burden. This retrospective longitudinal hospital-based study evaluated the records of 326 inpatient children under the age of two years with congenital anomalies at Bugando Medical Centre, a tertiary referral hospital in northwestern Tanzania. Classical logistic regression was used in the analysis of congenital malformation of muscles, gastrointestinal malformation, oral facial clefts, neural tube defects, and skeletal malformations. A modified poisson regression was used to model risk factors for Central Nervous System (CNS) hydrocephalus and congenital heart disease (CHD). A majority (78.8%) of children included in the study were less than six months of age. Nearly half (48.8%) were diagnosed with CHD followed by CNS hydrocephalus (10.4%) and congenital malformation of muscles (8.9%). Babies whose mothers missed periconceptual folic acid supplementation had 83% higher risk of hydrocephalus (aPR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.11\u20131.96) and 78% higher for CHD (aPR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.31\u20131.94). Male children had 1.67 higher odds of muscular congenital malformations (aOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.23\u20131.89). Less than 37 gestational age had a 1.86 higher odds of muscular congenital malformations (aOR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.53\u20133.66). Our study highlights the critical need for folic acid supplementation and establishes a need for a registry and the potential for mapping.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0003177","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,1]],"date-time":"2024-05-01T17:29:06Z","timestamp":1714584546000},"page":"e0003177","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["A retrospective study of congenital anomalies and associated risk factors among children admitted at a tertiary hospital in northwestern Tanzania"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"4","author":[{"given":"Wango","family":"Chaulo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8358-7358","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Elias C.","family":"Nyanza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Moses","family":"Asori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Deborah S. 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