Validity of the Birth Certificate in the Epidemiologic Assessment of Facial Clefts

¹ Division of Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Cleft Palate Clinic, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois

The preoperative dental casts and birth certificates of 460 patients with facial clefts were compared to ascertain if there was any relationship between the extent of facial cleft and the completeness of reporting such clefts on birth certificates. The results of the investigation indicated that, as the severity of the defect decreased, there was a corresponding decrease in the completeness of reporting the defects on the birth certificate. The possible ramifications of the findings in the present study indicated that in epidemiologic studies the researcher should exercise caution in assuming homogeneity of his sample if he uses the birth certificate as the means of collecting data for such studies.