Birth Defects Research最新文献

{"title":"Contextualizing Racial and Ethnic Inequities in COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake During Pregnancy Through a Community-Led Evaluation","authors":"Hanna M. Shephard,&nbsp;Emma Posner,&nbsp;Sasha Rivera,&nbsp;Maudeline Auguste,&nbsp;Eirini Nestoridi,&nbsp;Melissa Colón,&nbsp;Michelle Thompson,&nbsp;Rebecca C. Fauth,&nbsp;Jessica L. Goldberg,&nbsp;Mahsa M. Yazdy","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.70093","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) disaggregated data on vaccine coverage for pregnant people by their specific racial and ethnic identities, finding lower coverage among several subpopulations, including Puerto Rican and Haitian pregnant people. Quantitative data could not explain contexts shaping vaccine decisions; thus, MDPH partnered with Tufts Interdisciplinary Evaluation Research (TIER) to conduct a community-led evaluation to understand COVID-19 vaccine perceptions and decision-making among Hispanic/Latina and Haitian residents pregnant when COVID-19 vaccine access became widespread.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The evaluation included a bilingual (English/Spanish) survey (<i>n</i> = 19) and in-depth interviews (<i>n</i> = 8) conducted in Haitian Creole. TIER trained two community members who identified as Latina (Puerto Rican) and Haitian in evaluation methods and mentored them to collect, analyze, and interpret data, and co-develop recommendations for improved community-level vaccine outreach.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Two-thirds of participants across subpopulations (18/27) reported receipt of at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. All but one Latina survey respondent received pregnancy-specific vaccine information. While 10 received information from medical providers, only three indicated that providers helped them make COVID-19 vaccine decisions. Most (<i>n</i> = 16) cited partners and family as helping them make vaccine decisions. In-depth interviews with Haitian participants revealed concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine including its safety in pregnancy, faith-based objections, harm to Black communities, workplace mandates, and misinformation.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Coupling disaggregated data with community-led evaluation contextualized variations in vaccination during pregnancy. Strategies to support voluntary, informed vaccine decisions should emphasize provider communication, engage partners and families, and address concerns via trusted messengers. This replicable framework can support equitable outreach for vaccines recommended in pregnancy.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bdr2.70093","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148534250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development and Evaluation of an Adaptive Penguin–Improved LSTM Model Integrating Natural Language Processing for Early Prediction of Pregnancy Syndrome Risks","authors":"Yanqi Wu","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.70095","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Background&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Early prediction of pregnancy syndromes such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and preterm birth is critical for improving maternal and fetal outcomes. Traditional risk assessment tools rely primarily on structured clinical data and often fail to fully utilize the rich unstructured textual information contained in electronic health records (EHRs).&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Objective&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;This study aimed to develop and evaluate an Adaptive Penguin–Improved Long Short-Term Memory (AP-ILSTM) model that integrates natural language processing (NLP) of clinical narratives with structured longitudinal data for predicting the risk of preeclampsia, GDM, and preterm birth.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Methods&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;This retrospective observational study used de-identified EHR data from 1248 consecutive pregnancies at a single regional hospital in China between April 2024 and April 2025. Structured clinical variables and unstructured free-text clinical notes were preprocessed using standard NLP techniques, including tokenization, TF-IDF weighting, and word embeddings. An Improved Long Short-Term Memory (ILSTM) network with dropout regularization was optimized using the Adaptive Penguin algorithm with Gaussian exploration. The dataset was stratified into training (70%), validation (15%), and independent test (15%) sets. Model performance was assessed using accuracy, sensitivity (recall), positive predictive value (precision), F1-score, specificity, negative predictive value, ROC-AUC, and mean absolute error, and compared against baseline machine learning models.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Results&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;On the independent test set (&lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 188), the AP-ILSTM model achieved an accuracy of 98.85%, sensitivity of 98.69%, positive predictive value of 98.75%, F1-score of 98.72%, and ROC-AUC of 0.993, with a mean absolute error of 4.05. It outperformed all baseline classifiers (XGBoost, CatBoost, KNN) and regression models. Clinical narrative embeddings ranked as the second most important predictor after blood pressure trends.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;The AP-ILSTM model, by effectively combining structured data with NLP-derived features from clinical narratives and employing adaptive optimization, demonstrated superior performance for early multi-syndrome pregnancy risk prediction. This multimodal temporal approach shows strong potential to support clinical decision-making, although external validation and prospective implementation studies are required before clinica","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148534249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction to “Computational Studies of Satureja hortensis Phytochemicals as Inhibitors of AP-1 (FOS/JUN) Activation in Valproic Acid Teratogenicity”","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70088","DOIUrl":"10.1002/bdr2.70088","url":null,"abstract":"<p>\u0000 <span>Nagarakere Shankara, V.</span>, <span>S. S. Ahmed</span>, and <span>B. Doddla Raghunathanaidu</span>. <span>2026</span>. “ <span>Computational Studies of <i>Satureja hortensis</i> Phytochemicals as Inhibitors of AP-1 (FOS/JUN) Activation in Valproic Acid Teratogenicity</span>.” <i>Birth Defects Research</i> <span>118</span>, no. <span>5</span>: e70054. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.70054.\u0000 </p><p>In the originally published article, author Vindya Nagarakere Shankara affiliations were given in the wrong order. The correct affiliations are given below. The online version of the article has been updated.</p><p>We apologize for this error.</p><p>Incorrect:</p><p>Vindya Nagarakere Shankara^1,2, Syed Sagheer Ahmed¹, Bharathi Doddla Raghunathanaidu¹</p><p>¹Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sri Adichunchanagiri College of Pharmacy, Adichunchanagiri University, B.G Nagara, India</p><p>²Department of Pharmacology, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru, India</p><p>Correct:</p><p>Vindya Nagarakere Shankara^1,2, Syed Sagheer Ahmed², Bharathi Doddla Raghunathanaidu²</p><p>¹Department of Pharmacology, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy, Bengaluru, India</p><p>²Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sri Adichunchanagiri College of Pharmacy, Adichunchanagiri University, B.G Nagara, India</p>","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bdr2.70088","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148469032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"After the Gavel: Reflections on Leadership, Service and Growth","authors":"Pragati S. Coder","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70091","DOIUrl":"10.1002/bdr2.70091","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;After several years of service on the Council of the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention (BDRP), including a term as Treasurer, I had the extraordinary honor of serving as President during 2025–2026. Looking back, this opportunity stands among the most meaningful experiences of my professional career—both humbling in its responsibility and deeply rewarding in its impact.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Volunteering for scientific societies is an “extracurricular” activity for all of us who devote our time to such endeavors—helping lead projects, initiatives and subcommittees, organizing and chairing symposia and workshops, sometimes entire scientific programs, and all while we perform the duties of our day jobs. Thus, like most of us, when I was first approached to run for office, my first and almost instantaneous reaction was that I was not qualified for this monumental task. I feared that I did not have any understanding of the roles and responsibilities, and I feared the extra hours that an elected presidential line position would undoubtably require of me. Running for the role of society president is a 4-year commitment—a year each serving as Vice President Elect, Vice President (VP), President, and Past President. The second year is often considered the busiest as the role of the VP is to also serve as the Scientific Program Chair and plan the annual meeting—a 15–16-months long process beginning in the final quarter of the first year following election. As a full-time employee and leader at a fast-paced, deliverables-driven contract research organization (CRO), I struggled to imagine how I could ever summon the capacity—or the confidence (&lt;i&gt;hello imposter syndrome!&lt;/i&gt;)—to take on more. I was convinced I was completely unprepared for leadership. Today, as I look back on this time, I realize that leadership is something we learn through service and I can acknowledge that I not only survived this experience, I thrived—but it was no walk in the park, and I most definitely did not achieve this on my own. There have been so many supporters along the way—those that believed in my abilities and encouraged me repeatedly to run for office; those that provided their encouragement, support, and backup at work and at home (as I took on the extra responsibility) and yet many more that cheered me on every step of the way until the day I passed over the ceremonial “Presidential Gavel” at the end of my term this June (Figure 1). In short—it took a village! So, the first piece of advice from a Past President—&lt;i&gt;Find your tribe!&lt;/i&gt; Those who challenge you, uplift you, and believe in your potential even when you waver. When you surround yourself with the right people, you don't just grow—you thrive, supported by a community that inspires you to give your very best.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;My year as VP and Scientific Program Chair was surprisingly smooth sailing—at least, that is how I remember it in retrospect. This was largely due to the excellent organizational skills of our Senior","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bdr2.70091","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148444439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Replicability in EFDT Studies: Implications of Context Dependence for Virtual Control Groups (VCGs)","authors":"L. David Wise,&nbsp;John M. DeSesso","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70090","DOIUrl":"10.1002/bdr2.70090","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Reliable interpretation of animal toxicology studies depends on the ability to reproduce and replicate experimental findings. Recent discussions of Virtual Control Groups (VCGs) in nonclinical toxicology have emphasized the importance of matching study variables when constructing control datasets. However, the biological implications of variability among studies have received limited explicit attention. In embryo-fetal developmental toxicity (EFDT) studies, numerous intrinsic and extrinsic variables can influence pregnancy outcomes, fetal development, and the interpretation of findings. Drawing on previous analyses of EFDT variability and recent discussions of VCG implementation, 69 potential sources of non-treatment variability were identified and organized into five general domains, including animals, pre-study practices, the microenvironment, the macroenvironment, and study design/procedures. These domains differ in the degree to which they can be controlled or standardized across laboratories. Some variables may have negligible effects under many conditions, whereas others, alone or in combination, may influence study outcomes. EFDT outcomes are therefore inherently context-dependent, reflecting the combined influence of treatment and study context. Under such conditions, strict replicability of control-group outcomes across studies becomes biologically improbable. Recognition of this inherent variability has implications for expectations of study concordance and for the construction of VCGs as well as often-used historical control data (HCD). The development of reliable VCGs is therefore most feasible within individual laboratories where major domains of variability can be more closely aligned.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148434739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Combined Effects of Dinotefuran and Piperonyl Butoxide on Behavioral Development in an F1-Generation Toxicity Study in Mice","authors":"Toyohito Tanaka,&nbsp;Motoki Hojo,&nbsp;Akiko Inomata","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70086","DOIUrl":"10.1002/bdr2.70086","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Few published studies have reported on the reproductive and neurobehavioral toxicity of combined exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides and synergists in mammals. This study aimed to evaluate the reproductive and neurobehavioral effects of a combined treatment with dinotefuran (DIN) and piperonyl butoxide (PBO) in an F₁-generation toxicity study in mice.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>DIN and PBO were given in the diet to provide levels of 0% (control), DIN 0.005% + PBO 0.03%, DIN 0.01% + PBO 0.03%, and DIN 0.02% + PBO 0.03% from 5 weeks of age of the F₀ generation to 11 weeks of age of the F₁ generation in mice. Selected reproductive and neurobehavioral parameters were measured in the F₁ generation.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>For behavioral development during the lactation period, surface righting on PND 4 and olfactory orientation route on PND 14 indicated a significantly high score in the DIN 0.02% + PBO 0.03% group in male offspring. In female offspring, olfactory orientation route and time on PND 14 indicated a significantly high score in the DIN 0.02% + PBO 0.03% group. For exploratory behavior in the F₁-generation offspring, several variables indicated significant effects in male and female offspring. In the spontaneous behavior of males in the F₁ generation, the parallel lines among the control and treatment groups indicated significant distances in total distance, movement time, and number of rearing.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The dose levels of DIN with PBO in the present study produced several adverse effects on neurobehavioral parameters in F₁ generation mice at lower dose levels than DIN alone.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148410198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fetal and Obstetric Complications Among Pregnant Women With Congenital Heart Disease in a Georgia Medicaid Dataset","authors":"Cheryl L. Raskind-Hood,&nbsp;Travis M. Wilson,&nbsp;Shayli Patel,&nbsp;Fred H. Rodriguez III,&nbsp;Alex Haffner,&nbsp;Vijaya Kancherla,&nbsp;Lindsey Ivey,&nbsp;Wendy M. Book","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70085","DOIUrl":"10.1002/bdr2.70085","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Survival to reproductive age is common among women with congenital heart disease (CHD). We evaluated fetal and obstetric complications in a population-based cohort of women with CHD enrolled in Georgia (GA) Medicaid.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We identified 3904 pregnancies (96.0% singleton) among 2267 women with CHD, ages 11–50 (49.2% Black; 76.3% urban), enrolled in GA Medicaid from 2008 to 2019. Diagnoses and outcomes were defined using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. Associations between CHD anatomic group and fetal and obstetric outcomes were assessed using chi-square tests. Multivariate logistic regression models were adjusted for covariates, using isolated coronary anomalies as the reference group.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Obstetric complications occurred in 36.2% of pregnancies and did not differ significantly by CHD anatomic group (<i>p</i> = 0.5301). Fetal complications were significantly more common in all CHD groups compared with coronary anomalies, including higher prematurity and fetal growth restriction (FGR) rates (prematurity: <i>p</i> &lt; 0.0001; FGR: <i>p</i> = 0.0238). In multivariate analysis, complex right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) defects, shunts, univentricular lesions, transposition of the great arteries (TGA), left-sided and right-sided valve lesions were associated with increased odds of fetal complications compared to coronary anomaly CHD [aOR, 95% CI: complex RVOT 4.85, 1.85–12.71; shunt 4.00, 1.56–10.26; univentricular: 3.65, 1.35–9.90; TGA: 3.64, 1.24–10.63; left-sided valve: 3.23, 1.26–8.31; and right-sided valve: 3.11, 1.19–8.12].</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Pregnancies among women with CHD carry increased risk of prematurity and FGR rates across CHD anatomic groups compared with coronary anomalies. Close monitoring for fetal and obstetric complications is warranted regardless of CHD subtype, including those traditionally considered to have lower maternal risk.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148410171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vascular Mechanisms in the Etiology of Hemifacial Microsomia: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological, Clinical, and Genetic Evidence","authors":"Karl Jacobs,&nbsp;Aarya Baramakeh,&nbsp;Hedwig van der Meer,&nbsp;Hans Korfage,&nbsp;Bernadette de Bakker,&nbsp;Geerling Langenbach,&nbsp;Roelof Jan Oostra,&nbsp;Frank Lobbezoo","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.70081","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Hemifacial microsomia (HFM) is a congenital craniofacial malformation characterized by unilateral hypoplasia of structures derived from the first and second pharyngeal arches. Although the phenotype is well described, the underlying etiology remains incompletely understood. Disturbances in embryonic vascular development have long been proposed as a potential mechanism contributing to the characteristic unilateral craniofacial phenotype.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Searches were performed in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL to identify studies investigating vascular mechanisms in hemifacial microsomia and related craniofacial microsomia phenotypes. Evidence from epidemiological, clinical, radiological, and genetic studies was synthesized narratively because of methodological heterogeneity.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Of 450 screened records, eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Epidemiological studies identified associations between HFM and maternal factors potentially affecting embryonic perfusion, including vasoactive medication exposure, maternal diabetes, multiple gestations, and second-trimester vaginal bleeding. Population-based data further demonstrated an increased prevalence of single umbilical artery and growth restriction among affected infants. Clinical and radiological observations described regional vascular abnormalities, including carotid artery attenuation. One genetic association study suggested interactions between pathways involved in vascular development and neural crest cell biology.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The available evidence is consistent with a possible contribution of disturbances in vascular development to the pathogenesis of hemifacial microsomia, particularly in unilateral presentations. However, current evidence remains indirect and heterogeneous. Vascular mechanisms may interact with genetic susceptibility and neural crest cell biology within a broader multifactorial developmental framework. Further studies integrating genomic analyses, developmental models, and detailed vascular imaging are needed to clarify the role of vascular mechanisms in craniofacial microsomia.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/bdr2.70081","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148282560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Preventive Dental Care Utilization and Infective Endocarditis Among Georgia Medicaid Beneficiaries With Congenital Heart Defects, 2008–2019","authors":"Ketki Joshi,&nbsp;Wendy Book,&nbsp;Cheryl Raskind-Hood,&nbsp;Lindsey C. Ivey,&nbsp;Alex Haffner,&nbsp;Vijaya Kancherla","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.70064","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Introduction</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Preventive dental care is recommended in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) to prevent infective endocarditis (IE). We examined average annual preventive dental care utilization and the association between preventive dental care and IE in children with CHD.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We conducted a retrospective cohort study examining children (1–18-year-olds), covered by Georgia Medicaid, with at least one CHD-related ICD code and a healthcare encounter between 2008 and 2019. Preventive dental care encounters were based on Current Dental Terminology (CDT) codes (D1000-D1999). CHD native anatomy was captured based on ICD-9-and-10-CM codes. Log binomial regression estimated adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for IE risk, controlling for sex, race and ethnicity, birth year cohort, rurality, and Social Deprivation Index.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Of 61,024 children with CHD, 65.64% (<i>n</i> = 40,058) had at least one annual preventive dental visit on average, of which 0.30% (<i>n</i> = 181) had IE. For subgroups with valve or shunt lesions, having at least one annual preventive dental care visit showed a significantly lower risk of IE (aRR = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.18, 0.58, and aRR = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.07, 0.38, respectively) compared to no dental visits. No association was found between preventive dental care and IE in those with severe CHD (aRR = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.51, 1.26).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Although dental health is important for patients with CHD, and despite universal dental coverage, many children with CHD do not seek annual preventive dental care. Integrating dental health assessments into routine CHD management protocols is imperative not only to promote oral health but also to prevent IE.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148282561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pattern of Agreement Among Medications Used During Pregnancy as Recorded in Self-Report and Administrative Claims From California","authors":"Jonathan A. Mayo,&nbsp;Chen Ma,&nbsp;Gary M. Shaw","doi":"10.1002/bdr2.70080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.70080","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Medication usage prior to conception and over the duration of pregnancy is common. Two frequent sources that record such medications are self-report and administrative databases. Our goal was to examine the pattern of agreement among medications reported in each source.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We linked all interviewed subjects recruited for the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS (BD-STEPS) in California to their Medi-Cal insurance claims. BD-STEPS is a population-based case–control study including livebirths, stillbirths, and terminations with a major birth defect and livebirth controls without defects. Among 195 California BD-STEPS participants that completed a structured interview and linked to their Medi-Cal claims, we compared the agreement of self-reported medication use with that documented in insurance claims using the simple kappa statistic and 95% confidence intervals.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Among the 195 subjects, accounting for both sources there were a total 128 medications recorded. Agreement between self-report and Medi-Cal claims based on the kappa statistic varied considerably; for example, we found that acetaminophen [<i>k</i> = 0.06 (−0.04, 0.15)], amoxicillin [<i>k</i> = 0.05 (−0.12, 0.21)], ibuprofen [<i>k</i> = 0.02 (−0.10, 0.14)], and ondansetron [<i>k</i> = 0.11 (−0.07, 0.28)] all had poor agreement. Five medications showed perfect agreement [<i>k</i> = 1.00 (1.00, 1.00)] including amlodipine, glyburide, methimazole, metoprolol, and mirtazapine. For some medications agreement varied by case and control status or time to recall, but estimates were often imprecise.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Medication reporting during pregnancy that comes from administrative claims and self-report each have their distinct advantages and limitations. Understanding how and why certain medications will populate one but not the other is an important consideration. Data drawn from multiple sources have the ability to complement one another, perhaps more so than confirm.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":9121,"journal":{"name":"Birth Defects Research","volume":"118 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148282244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}