{"doi":"10.1093/tropej/fmaf019","title":"Neural tube defects: stigma, costs, global health implications, and a call for increased education and research about a preventable birth defect","abstract":null,"journal":"Journal of Tropical Pediatrics","year":2025,"id":647530,"datarank":0.16479184330021646,"base_score":1.0986122886681096,"endowment":1.0986122886681096,"self_citation_contribution":0.16479184330021646,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.16479184330021646,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":2,"citer_count":2,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1687116,"name":"Helina Heluf","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1687117,"name":"Mastewal Derara","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1687118,"name":"Elizabeth Montgomery Collins","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":242141,"name":"Lola Madrid","orcid":"0000-0003-4034-6033","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1687115,"name":"Samrawit Abebaw","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Neural tube defects: stigma, costs, global health implications, and a call for increased education and research about a preventable birth defect","abstract":"Neural tube defects (NTDs) encompass a range of prevalent and serious birth defects characterized by the incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube, resulting in brain and spinal anomalies that can lead to death or lifelong disability [1, 2]. Among the types, anencephaly, craniorachischisis, and iniencephaly result in foetal demise or early neonatal death. However, spina bifida and encephalocele allow for survival, often requiring expensive medical and surgical interventions, imposing a heavy toll on the quality of life of the individuals affected and their families [3]. Despite advancements in prenatal care and medical technology, NTDs remain an important public health issue, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) [4]. Although most prevalence data are reported from hospitals and lack accuracy to truly understand the actual burden, improved surveillance, enhanced reporting systems, and increased research efforts have refined NTD prevalence data in low-income settings. A global systematic review and meta-analysis estimated that NTDs affected 260 100 births globally, with a prevalence of 18.6 per 10 ,000 live births (LB), and 50% of the cases resulting in elective termination of the pregnancy or stillbirth [5]. However, the burden of NTDs exhibits significant geographic disparities, with variations observed across WHO regions. The lowest estimated prevalence is in the Western Pacific region, 0.7 per 1000 LB; Europe has 0.9 per 1000 LB, Southeast Asia has 1.6 per 1000 LB, and the highest is in the Eastern Mediterranean, 2.2 per 1000 LB [6]. In the sub-Saharan African region, Ethiopia has reported a prevalence of NTD as high as 6.3 per 1000 LB (Table 1). However, understanding the true burden of NTDs in LMICs is challenging due to the lack of robust surveillance systems for birth defects, death registration, and the connections in which birth defects result in death. Furthermore, in resource-constrained settings, population-level data are scarce, and much of the available information is hospital-based, which may impact case ascertainment in these contexts [5, 6]. Hospital-based studies might exaggerate the prevalence of NTDs, given that they tend to draw in complex cases like NTDs. However, these studies may also undervalue the true burden since they frequently overlook stillbirths and abortions, which represent 50% of NTD cases [5].","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":1.0986122886681096,"endowment":1.0986122886681096,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"40480802","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W4411079956","authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":1.723,"citation_percentile":0.84079776,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2026,"count":2}],"oa_status":"closed","license":"https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://academic.oup.com/tropej/article-pdf/71/4/fmaf019/63447811/fmaf019.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1093/tropej/fmaf019","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40480802","host_type":"repository"}],"fields_of_study":["Folate and B Vitamins Research","Congenital Anomalies and Fetal Surgery","Prenatal Screening and Diagnostics"],"mesh_terms":[],"keywords":["Medicine","Stigma (botany)","Neural tube","Global health","Social stigma","Gerontology","Public health","Family medicine","Psychiatry","Nursing","Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)"],"sdg_mappings":[],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-10T00:48:40.292303Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}