PURPOSE: to trace the epidemiological profile of patients with cleft lip and/or palate at a specialized center in Belo Horizonte. METHOD: data referring to the year of entry to the center, type of cleft, gender, city of origin and age at the time of first attendance were obtained from an Excel spreadsheet containing the records of all patients. Statistical analysis was performed by the Chi-square test at 5% significance level. RESULTS: the sample was composed of 1,219 subjects, 593 patients being registered in 2005, 273 in 2006, 222 in 2007 and 131 in 2008. Of the total sample, 49% showed complete cleft lip and palate, 26% cleft palate, 19% cleft lip, 2% incomplete cleft lip and cleft palate and 3% other types of craniofacial malformation. As for the gender, 54% were of the male gender and 46% were of the female gender. With regard to the origin, 33% were from Belo Horizonte residents, 28% were from other cities in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, 38.5% from the inland of the State of Minas Gerais and 0.5% from other States. As for the age, 40% of the cases arrived to the center before completing 3 years of age, 45.5% between the ages of 3 and 18 years and 14.5% over the age of 18 years. CONCLUSION: at this reference center, the largest number of cases showed the complete cleft lip and palate type, those were patients of the male gender, coming from the inland of the State of Minas Gerais, and consisting of babies and children.
Cleft Palate; Cleft Lip; Epidemiology; Population Characteristics
