Socio-Demographic and Clinical Patterns of Cleft Lip and Palate Patients
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Abstract
Introduction: Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is among the most common congenital craniofacial anomalies worldwide, with multifactorial aetiology influenced by genetic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors. Despite its significant public health burden in India, region-specific epidemiological data from tertiary care centres remain limited. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, prospective observational study was conducted over one year at the Cleft Outpatient Department of PGIMS Rohtak, Haryana. All consenting patients diagnosed with cleft lip, cleft palate, or cleft lip and palate were included. Demographic details, parental characteristics, socioeconomic background, habits, family history, cleft type, laterality, and diagnostic grouping based on the Nagpur classification were recorded using a standardized proforma. Descriptive statistics were applied, and associations between diagnostic groups and selected variables were analysed using the Chi-square test at a 5% significance level. Results: A total of 48 patients were evaluated, with equal gender distribution (50% males, 50% females). The mean paternal and maternal ages were 33.4 and 28.2 years, respectively. Most fathers were labourers or unemployed, while 91.7% of mothers were homemakers, reflecting a predominantly low socioeconomic background. Deleterious parental habits were present in 18.8% of cases, and a positive family history was observed in 8.1%. Left-sided cleft involvement was most common (64.3%). Chi-square analysis revealed no statistically significant association between diagnostic group and sex (p = 0.801), deleterious habits (p = 0.604), or family history (p = 0.576). Conclusion: This study defines the local epidemiological and clinical profile of CLP patients at PGIMS Rohtak, demonstrating equal sex distribution, socioeconomic vulnerability, and predominance of left-sided clefts, with diagnostic patterns independent of major demographic and behavioural confounders. Keywords: Cleft lip; Cleft palate; Congenital abnormalities; Cross-sectional studies; Epidemiology.
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2. Zhou Y, Mao X, Zhou H, Qin Z, Wang L, Cai Z, Yu B. Epidemiology of birth defects based on a birth defect surveillance system in Southern Jiangsu, China, 2014–2018. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine. 2022 Feb 16;35(4):745-51.
3. Aljohar A, Ravichandran K, Subhani S. Pattern of cleft lip and palate in hospital-based population in Saudi Arabia: retrospective study. The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal. 2008 Nov;45(6):592-6.
4. Pavlova NI, Kurtanov KA, Diakonova AT, Mironova LS, Solovyeva NA, Borisova YP, Dodokhov VV, Ushnitsky ID. Genetic predictors for the development of congenital orofacial clefts. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2020;10(1):50-3.
5. Salari N, Darvishi N, Heydari M, Bokaee S, Darvishi F, Mohammadi M. Global prevalence of cleft palate, cleft lip and cleft palate and lip: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of stomatology, oral and maxillofacial surgery. 2022 Apr 1;123(2):110-20.
6. Mossey P, Little J. Addressing the challenges of cleft lip and palate research in India. Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery. 2009 Oct;42(S 01):S9-18.
7. James O, Erinoso OA, Ogunlewe AO, Adeyemo WL, Ladeinde AL, Ogunlewe MO. Parental age and the risk of cleft lip and palate in a Nigerian population-A case–control study. Annals of Maxillofacial Surgery. 2020 Jul 1;10(2):429-33.
8. de Carvalho PH, Machado RA, de Almeida Reis SR, Martelli DR, Dias VO, Júnior HM. Parental age is related to the occurrence of cleft lip and palate in Brazilian populations. Brazilian Journal of Oral Sciences. 2016;15(2):167-70.
9. Francisco I, Caramelo F, Fernandes MH, Vale F. Parental risk factors and child Birth Data in a Matched Year and Sex Group Cleft Population: a case-control study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021 Apr 27;18(9):4615.
10. Karina K, Fransisca F, Suryadinata KL. Analyzing Parental Age to Determine Types of Cleft in Hayandra Peduli Foundation Patient, Indonesia. Jurnal Profesi Medika: Jurnal Kedokteran dan Kesehatan. 2020 Dec 28;14(2).
11. Inchingolo AM, Fatone MC, Malcangi G, Avantario P, Piras F, Patano A, Di Pede C, Netti A, Ciocia AM, De Ruvo E, Viapiano F. Modifiable risk factors of non-syndromic orofacial clefts: a systematic review. Children. 2022 Nov 28;9(12):1846.
12. Vasan N. Management of children with clefts of the lip or palate: an overview. The New Zealand dental journal. 1999 Mar 1;95(419):14-20.
13. Abd Kati F. CLEFT LIP AND PALATE.
14. Martelli DR, Coletta RD, Oliveira EA, Swerts MS, Rodrigues LA, Oliveira MC, Martelli Júnior H. Association between maternal smoking, gender, and cleft lip and palate. Brazilian journal of otorhinolaryngology. 2015 Sep;81:514-9.
15. Shapira Y, Blum I, Haklai Z, Shpack N, Amitai Y. Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts among Jews and non‐Jews born in 13 hospitals in Israel during 1993‐2005. Community dentistry and oral epidemiology. 2018 Dec;46(6):586-91.
16. Parikh A, Rao A. Epidemiology of cleft lip and palate in pediatric patients–A hospital based study. Int J Sci Res. 2015;4:273-5.
17. Dutta I, Guruaribam NS, Khundongbam P. A cross-sectional study on epidemiology and clinical profile of cleft lip and palate at a tertiary care hospital in Manipur, India. Journal of Cleft Lip Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies. 2021 Jul 1;8(2):134-42.
18. AlHayyan WA, Al Hayek S, Alotaibi SS, AlGhanim SA. Birth prevalence of orofacial cleft in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A retrospective audit. The Saudi Dental Journal. 2021 Dec 1;33(8):954-7.
19. Bille C, Skytthe A, Vach W, Knudsen LB, Andersen AM, Murray JC, Christensen K. Parent's age and the risk of oral clefts. Epidemiology. 2005 May 1;16(3):311-6.
20. Jamilian A, Sarkarat F, Jafari M, Neshandar M, Amini E, Khosravi S, Ghassemi A. Family history and risk factors for cleft lip and palate patients and their associated anomalies. Stomatologija. 2017 Jan 1;19(3):78-83.
21. Nagalo K, Ouédraogo I, Laberge JM, Caouette-Laberge L, Turgeon J. Epidemiology, clinical aspects and management of cleft lip and/or palate in Burkina Faso: A humanitarian pediatric surgery-based study. Open Journal of Pediatrics. 2015 Apr 22;5(2):113-20.
22. Sundoro A, Hilmanto D, Soedjana H, Lesmana R, Harianti S. Epidemiology of cleft lip and palate charity mission surgery at Bandung Cleft Lip and Palate Center, Indonesia: a 14-year institutional review. Archives of Craniofacial Surgery. 2024 Apr 20;25(2):62.
23. Inchingolo AM, Fatone MC, Malcangi G, Avantario P, Piras F, Patano A, Di Pede C, Netti A, Ciocia AM, De Ruvo E, Viapiano F. Modifiable risk factors of non-syndromic orofacial clefts: a systematic review. Children. 2022 Nov 28;9(12):1846.
24. Figueiredo JC, Ly S, Magee KS, Ihenacho U, Baurley JW, Sanchez‐Lara PA, Brindopke F, Nguyen TH, Nguyen V, Tangco MI, Giron M. Parental risk factors for oral clefts among Central Africans, Southeast Asians, and Central Americans. Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology. 2015 Oct;103(10):863-79.
25. Silva AM, Calumby RT, Freitas VS. Epidemiologic profile and prevalence of live births with orofacial cleft in Brazil: a descriptive study. Revista Paulista de Pediatria. 2023 Sep 15;42:e2022234.
26. Vu GH, Warden C, Zimmerman CE, Kalmar CL, Humphries LS, McDonald-McGinn DM, Jackson OA, Low DW, Taylor JA, Swanson JW. Poverty and risk of cleft lip and palate: an analysis of United States birth data. Plastic and reconstructive surgery. 2022 Jan 1;149(1):169-82.
27. Kurita H, Motoki N, Inaba Y, Misawa Y, Ohira S, Kanai M, Tsukahara T, Nomiyama T. Maternal alcohol consumption and risk of offspring with congenital malformation: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. Pediatric research. 2021 Aug;90(2):479-86.
28. Yin X, Li J, Li Y, Zou S. Maternal alcohol consumption and oral clefts: a meta-analysis. British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 2019 Nov 1;57(9):839-46.
29. Philipp K, Anja Q, Boris S, Johanna K, Susanne W, Adam S, Philipp MM, Henning S. Epidemiological and clinical evaluation of patients with a cleft in lower saxony Germany: a mono-center analysis. Clinical Oral Investigations. 2023 Sep;27(9):5661-70.
30. Neela PK, Reddy SG, Husain A, Mohan V. Association of cleft lip and/or palate in people born to consanguineous parents: A 13-year retrospective study from a very high-volume cleft center. Journal of Cleft Lip Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies. 2019 Jan 1;6(1):33-7.
2. Zhou Y, Mao X, Zhou H, Qin Z, Wang L, Cai Z, Yu B. Epidemiology of birth defects based on a birth defect surveillance system in Southern Jiangsu, China, 2014–2018. The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine. 2022 Feb 16;35(4):745-51.
3. Aljohar A, Ravichandran K, Subhani S. Pattern of cleft lip and palate in hospital-based population in Saudi Arabia: retrospective study. The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal. 2008 Nov;45(6):592-6.
4. Pavlova NI, Kurtanov KA, Diakonova AT, Mironova LS, Solovyeva NA, Borisova YP, Dodokhov VV, Ushnitsky ID. Genetic predictors for the development of congenital orofacial clefts. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2020;10(1):50-3.
5. Salari N, Darvishi N, Heydari M, Bokaee S, Darvishi F, Mohammadi M. Global prevalence of cleft palate, cleft lip and cleft palate and lip: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of stomatology, oral and maxillofacial surgery. 2022 Apr 1;123(2):110-20.
6. Mossey P, Little J. Addressing the challenges of cleft lip and palate research in India. Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery. 2009 Oct;42(S 01):S9-18.
7. James O, Erinoso OA, Ogunlewe AO, Adeyemo WL, Ladeinde AL, Ogunlewe MO. Parental age and the risk of cleft lip and palate in a Nigerian population-A case–control study. Annals of Maxillofacial Surgery. 2020 Jul 1;10(2):429-33.
8. de Carvalho PH, Machado RA, de Almeida Reis SR, Martelli DR, Dias VO, Júnior HM. Parental age is related to the occurrence of cleft lip and palate in Brazilian populations. Brazilian Journal of Oral Sciences. 2016;15(2):167-70.
9. Francisco I, Caramelo F, Fernandes MH, Vale F. Parental risk factors and child Birth Data in a Matched Year and Sex Group Cleft Population: a case-control study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021 Apr 27;18(9):4615.
10. Karina K, Fransisca F, Suryadinata KL. Analyzing Parental Age to Determine Types of Cleft in Hayandra Peduli Foundation Patient, Indonesia. Jurnal Profesi Medika: Jurnal Kedokteran dan Kesehatan. 2020 Dec 28;14(2).
11. Inchingolo AM, Fatone MC, Malcangi G, Avantario P, Piras F, Patano A, Di Pede C, Netti A, Ciocia AM, De Ruvo E, Viapiano F. Modifiable risk factors of non-syndromic orofacial clefts: a systematic review. Children. 2022 Nov 28;9(12):1846.
12. Vasan N. Management of children with clefts of the lip or palate: an overview. The New Zealand dental journal. 1999 Mar 1;95(419):14-20.
13. Abd Kati F. CLEFT LIP AND PALATE.
14. Martelli DR, Coletta RD, Oliveira EA, Swerts MS, Rodrigues LA, Oliveira MC, Martelli Júnior H. Association between maternal smoking, gender, and cleft lip and palate. Brazilian journal of otorhinolaryngology. 2015 Sep;81:514-9.
15. Shapira Y, Blum I, Haklai Z, Shpack N, Amitai Y. Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts among Jews and non‐Jews born in 13 hospitals in Israel during 1993‐2005. Community dentistry and oral epidemiology. 2018 Dec;46(6):586-91.
16. Parikh A, Rao A. Epidemiology of cleft lip and palate in pediatric patients–A hospital based study. Int J Sci Res. 2015;4:273-5.
17. Dutta I, Guruaribam NS, Khundongbam P. A cross-sectional study on epidemiology and clinical profile of cleft lip and palate at a tertiary care hospital in Manipur, India. Journal of Cleft Lip Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies. 2021 Jul 1;8(2):134-42.
18. AlHayyan WA, Al Hayek S, Alotaibi SS, AlGhanim SA. Birth prevalence of orofacial cleft in a tertiary hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A retrospective audit. The Saudi Dental Journal. 2021 Dec 1;33(8):954-7.
19. Bille C, Skytthe A, Vach W, Knudsen LB, Andersen AM, Murray JC, Christensen K. Parent's age and the risk of oral clefts. Epidemiology. 2005 May 1;16(3):311-6.
20. Jamilian A, Sarkarat F, Jafari M, Neshandar M, Amini E, Khosravi S, Ghassemi A. Family history and risk factors for cleft lip and palate patients and their associated anomalies. Stomatologija. 2017 Jan 1;19(3):78-83.
21. Nagalo K, Ouédraogo I, Laberge JM, Caouette-Laberge L, Turgeon J. Epidemiology, clinical aspects and management of cleft lip and/or palate in Burkina Faso: A humanitarian pediatric surgery-based study. Open Journal of Pediatrics. 2015 Apr 22;5(2):113-20.
22. Sundoro A, Hilmanto D, Soedjana H, Lesmana R, Harianti S. Epidemiology of cleft lip and palate charity mission surgery at Bandung Cleft Lip and Palate Center, Indonesia: a 14-year institutional review. Archives of Craniofacial Surgery. 2024 Apr 20;25(2):62.
23. Inchingolo AM, Fatone MC, Malcangi G, Avantario P, Piras F, Patano A, Di Pede C, Netti A, Ciocia AM, De Ruvo E, Viapiano F. Modifiable risk factors of non-syndromic orofacial clefts: a systematic review. Children. 2022 Nov 28;9(12):1846.
24. Figueiredo JC, Ly S, Magee KS, Ihenacho U, Baurley JW, Sanchez‐Lara PA, Brindopke F, Nguyen TH, Nguyen V, Tangco MI, Giron M. Parental risk factors for oral clefts among Central Africans, Southeast Asians, and Central Americans. Birth Defects Research Part A: Clinical and Molecular Teratology. 2015 Oct;103(10):863-79.
25. Silva AM, Calumby RT, Freitas VS. Epidemiologic profile and prevalence of live births with orofacial cleft in Brazil: a descriptive study. Revista Paulista de Pediatria. 2023 Sep 15;42:e2022234.
26. Vu GH, Warden C, Zimmerman CE, Kalmar CL, Humphries LS, McDonald-McGinn DM, Jackson OA, Low DW, Taylor JA, Swanson JW. Poverty and risk of cleft lip and palate: an analysis of United States birth data. Plastic and reconstructive surgery. 2022 Jan 1;149(1):169-82.
27. Kurita H, Motoki N, Inaba Y, Misawa Y, Ohira S, Kanai M, Tsukahara T, Nomiyama T. Maternal alcohol consumption and risk of offspring with congenital malformation: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. Pediatric research. 2021 Aug;90(2):479-86.
28. Yin X, Li J, Li Y, Zou S. Maternal alcohol consumption and oral clefts: a meta-analysis. British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 2019 Nov 1;57(9):839-46.
29. Philipp K, Anja Q, Boris S, Johanna K, Susanne W, Adam S, Philipp MM, Henning S. Epidemiological and clinical evaluation of patients with a cleft in lower saxony Germany: a mono-center analysis. Clinical Oral Investigations. 2023 Sep;27(9):5661-70.
30. Neela PK, Reddy SG, Husain A, Mohan V. Association of cleft lip and/or palate in people born to consanguineous parents: A 13-year retrospective study from a very high-volume cleft center. Journal of Cleft Lip Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies. 2019 Jan 1;6(1):33-7.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 13, No 1 (Winter 2026) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Cleft lip; Cleft palate; Congenital abnormalities; Cross-sectional studies; Epidemiology. | ||
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Yadav D, Gupta A, Kukreja M, Sharma R, Arora V. Socio-Demographic and Clinical Patterns of Cleft Lip and Palate Patients. J Craniomaxillofac Res. 2026;13(1):70-78.
