Prevalence of chromosomal disorders in cases with congenital heart defect: registry‐based study from Denmark between 2008 and 2018
Authors: Vedel C. , Hjortshøj T. D. , Jørgensen D. S. , Tabor A. , Rode L. , Sundberg K. , Ekelund C. K. , Petersen O. B. 
Published: September 2022

Objective

To estimate the prevalence of chromosomal conditions in all fetuses and children with major congenital heart defect (CHD) in Denmark between 2008 and 2018.

Methods

This was a national registry‐based study including all singleton pregnancies with a prenatally or postnatally diagnosed major CHD usually requiring surgery within the first year after birth and a due date between July 2008 and December 2018 in Denmark. Data were retrieved from the Danish Fetal Medicine Database (DFMD) and the Danish Cytogenetic Central Register (DCCR) in October 2020. The DCCR contains information on all prenatal and postnatal genetic analyses, including karyotyping, chromosomal microarray, polymerase chain reaction, multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification and fluorescence in‐situ hybridization. All cases were reviewed by a clinical geneticist, and genetic changes were classified as pathogenic, likely pathogenic, variant of uncertain significance, likely benign or benign. Pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants were considered to be abnormal. Cases with CHD without any registered chromosomal analysis reported were considered genetically normal. Isolated CHD was defined as a case with major CHD without any other structural malformations detected prenatally or postnatally. Results are given as n (%). Comparisons between isolated and non‐isolated cases were performed using logistic regression analysis, and data are presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CIs.

Results

A total of 8482 cases with any cardiovascular diagnosis were retrieved from the DFMD. Twins (n = 112) and minor CHD cases (n = 6921) were excluded, resulting in 1449 cases with major CHD. Of the included cases, 918 (63.4%) underwent chromosomal analysis. An abnormal test result was found in 187 cases, giving a prevalence of a chromosomal condition of 12.9% (95% CI, 11.2–14.7%) among all cases with major CHD. The highest prevalence of a chromosomal condition was found in cases with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum and those with truncus arteriosus (both 28.6%), while the lowest prevalence was found in cases with transposition of the great arteries (2.2%) and congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (0%). In isolated cases of transposition of the great arteries, the prevalence of a chromosomal condition was 0.6%. The overall OR for a chromosomal condition in non‐isolated cases compared with isolated cases was 2.72 (95% CI, 1.90–3.88).

Conclusions

We found an overall prevalence of a chromosomal condition of 12.9% among cases with major CHD in a national cohort with a high participation rate in first‐ and second‐trimester screening, without employing whole genome and whole exome sequencing. The prevalence of a chromosomal condition varied considerably according to CHD diagnosis and presence of associated extracardiac malformations. These findings are important for prenatal counseling. © 2022 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.