Maternal Exposure to Stress During Covid-19 and Non-Syndromic Orofacial Clefts: A Cohort Retrospective Study.

Objective: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic presents an opportunity to study stress's effect on the development of non-syndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFCs). This study was aimed at assessing maternal stress exposure during the pregestational to first trimester pregnancy periods and the development of NSOFCs during a year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: Cohort study of infants with NSOFCs and controls matched based on recruitment site and age.

Incidence of non-syndromic orofacial cleft during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

Objectives: This is the first national study to investigate the incidence of non-syndromic oro-facial clefts (NSOFC) and Pierre-Robin-Sequence in Saudi Arabia over the Covid-19 pandemic period.

Methods: All maternity hospitals (30-hospitals) in the major regions and cities of Saudi from November 2020-to-2021 were included in the study. Patients were evaluated for cleft phenotype using the LASHAL-classification system.

Molecular Screening of VAX1 Gene Polymorphisms Uncovered the Genetic Heterogeneity of Nonsyndromic Orofacial Cleft Among Saudi Arabian Patients.

Objective: Nonsyndromic orofacial cleft (NSOFC) including cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL±P) and cleft palate (CP) are multifactorial developmental disorders with both genetic and environmental etiological factors. In this study we investigated the association between CL±P and CP, and two polymorphisms previously determined using genome-wide association studies, as well as the association between consanguinity and CL±P and CP.

Methods: DNA was extracted from saliva specimens from 171 triads consisting of affected individuals and their parents, as well as 189 control triads (matched for age, gender, and location) that were recruited from 11 referral hospitals in Saudi Arabia.