This research was planned by the Academic Survey Committee and was carried out with the cooperation of the members of the Japanese Cleft Palate Association (JCPA). Nine hundred and sixty-five cases in 2019 were enrolled from 49 cooperating facilities belonging to the JCPA. Nine clinical characteristics of patients were investigated and the results were as follows:
1)Types: Cleft Lip (CL): 110 cases (11.4%), Cleft Lip and Alveolus (CLA): 206 cases (21.3%), Cleft Lip, Alveolus and Palate (CLAP): 388 cases (40.2%), Cleft Palate (CP): 193 cases (20.0%), Submucous Cleft Palate (SMCP): 52 cases (5.4%), Others (cases with mid-cleft, CL+SMCP, and so on): 16 cases (1.7%).
2)Affected side: Left: 368 cases (52.2%), right: 183 cases (26.0%), bilateral: 160 cases (22.7%). There are fewer bilateral cases in the CL type, but many in the CLAP type in comparison with others.
3)Gender: Female: 432 cases (44.8%), male: 533 cases (55.2%). In most types, males are affected more than females. However, in the CP type females are affected more than males.
4)Body weight at birth: The average body weight of SMCP is lower than that of other types.
5)Prenatal diagnosis: About 50% of the patients with cleft lip are diagnosed prenatally.
6)Age of parents: The father’s age is slightly higher than the mother’s age in all types.
7)Frequency of consanguinity: There is about 6-8% of consanguinity in each type.
8)Concurrent diseases (some cases have several concurrent diseases).
9)Syndrome/Chromosomal abnormalities: CP and SMCP have a relatively higher ratio.
The chi-squared test shows statistical differences (p<0.05) among cleft types in the affected side, gender, body weight, concurrent diseases, and syndrome/chromosomal abnormalities.
We obtained many valuable results from a relatively large number of Japanese patients with cleft lip and/or palate in one year.
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