Analysis of the Study Titled Are Children With Birth Defects at Higher Risk of Childhood Cancers - Essay Example

The increased incidence of cancer amongst children and adults born with defects was a critical linkage that the study tries to prove with scientific validity. The various external causes that may contribute to the development of cancer are also identified. It provides scientists with further incentive to explore wider aspects of cancer as well as the birth defects that are linked and considerably increase the risk amongst children. The research hypothesis was focused on the genetic etiology as a major factor for specific birth defects as well as certain specified childhood cancer.

External factors were studied to identify and evaluate their impact on birth defects. The cohort study has significantly addressed the limitations of previous studies by considering the children with the rarest of rare incidences of birth defects and cancer amongst a very large demography of children in Texas State. The quantitative study used more than 3 million birth records for 10 years period from 1996 to 2005 which were retrieved from the Texas Birth Registry, Texas Birth Defect Registry, and Texas Cancer Registry data.

The cohort data for a birth defect and cancer was matched and manually verified for doubts to reduce biases. 115686 cases of children with one or more birth defects were identified. The children who had developed cancer within 15 years of age were taken from Cancer Registry and matched with children born with defects. Data from both offices were annually reported to CDC and therefore authenticated. The study has used the scientific method to establish and predict linkages between various types of birth defects and incidence of specific cancer amongst children by using LinkPlus, software developed by CDC for the purpose.

Incidence rate ratio or IRR was applied against a confidence interval for evaluating a child’s baseline characteristics with birth defects and diagnosis of cancer before 15 years of age. Various variables like the child’s gender, birth weight, plurality, and birth order, as well as the mother’s age, race/ethnicity, education, etc., were control variables that were used in Cox proportional hazards regression for evaluating their linkages with birth defects and childhood cancer. The large demographic representation and scientific tools give credibility to the research outcome.

IRR was specially chosen as it credibly helps establish linkages between the two variables under study. The regression analysis effectively showed the low impact of the mother’s age, ethnicity, and education on birth defects and cancer in childhood. The results showed a clear association between birth defects with childhood cancer among children. Age was an important variable that was most correlated with early childhood cancer. Leukemia was predominant amongst children with most types of birth defects. There was an increased risk of cancer with all types of birth defects except musculoskeletal defects.

It also showed that children with Down syndrome were more likely to have leukemia. Leukemias, retinoblastomas, soft-tissue sarcomas, and germ cell tumors are the main types of cancer that are likely to appear within 1 year of age amongst children with birth defects. While genetics was an important factor, exposure of mothers to toxin environments within their homes was also found to be an important cause that contributed to the birth defect.