OBJECTIVE: To analyze the epidemiological aspects of oral clefts in children born alive between 2000 and 2005 in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with data obtained from Live Births System Data provided by the Department of Health Surveillance of the Ministry of Health. Data regarding mother's age, type of cleft, type of delivery, birth weight, gender, race and place of birth were analyzed. RESULTS: During the studied period, the number of live births in the state was 318,667, of which 155 had some kind of lip and/or palate cleft, with a prevalence of 0.49 cases/1,000 live births. When assessing the prevalence in the eight health regions, the metropolitan region of Natal (0.51), João Câmara (0.81) and Santa Cruz (0.67) presented ratios slightly above the average for the State. Some cities, however, presented very high prevalence of oral clefts such as Maxaranguape and Serra do Mel, with 3.52 and 2.52 cases/1,000 live births, respectively. The most prevalent type was cleft lip with involvement of the palate and males were most affected. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of oral cleft was low in the State, but some cities deserve attention due to the high prevalence of malformations. Further studies are needed in order to understand potential teratogenic risks to which the pregnant women may be exposed in such places, predisposing them to fetal congenital anomalies such as cleft lip and palate.
cleft lip; cleft palate; newborn infant
