Orofacial Cleft and Its Association with Consanguineous Marriage and Other Risk Factors: A Case-control Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Jammu Province

Background: Orofacial cleft is among the most common craniofacial malformations. It presents a complex and multifactorial etiology that involves genetic and environmental factors. One of the etiological factors is consanguinity (marriage between blood relatives). Multiple environmental risk factors, such as advanced maternal age, parity, maternal smoking, radiation, alcohol consumption, diabetes mellitus, and maternal use of drugs (i.e., anticonvulsants), folic acid deficiency, etc., have also been linked to the development of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P). There is a dearth of literature reporting the occurrence of cleft due to consanguinity and other risk factors.

Aim: The aim of this study is to describe the orofacial cleft demographics and to determine the influence of parental consanguinity and other associated risk factors on the occurrence of orofacial clefts (OFC) at a tertiary healthcare hospital in Jammu Province.

Materials and methods: This was a hospital-based case-control study. In the present study, data collection was specifically done regarding demographic features, history of consanguinity, degree of consanguinity, and other associated maternal risk factors in both the cleft and control groups.

Result: This study elucidates a significant association between parental consanguinity, degree of consanguinity, and other associated risk factors (i.e., maternal age ≥30 years, birth order ≥3, maternal smoking, alcohol consumption, and lack of folic acid consumption) with the occurrence of OFC.

Conclusion: Prevention is better than cure. Awareness programs and appropriate counseling should be conducted to educate the community about the risk factors and the anticipated genetic consequences of consanguinity to prevent the development of cleft anomalies in such populations.

How to cite this article: Gupta A, Kaul B, Gulbar S, et al. Orofacial Cleft and Its Association with Consanguineous Marriage and Other Risk Factors: A Case-control Study from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Jammu Province. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(11):1258-1264.