Risk factors associated with occipital encephalocele: a case-control study. Clinical article.

Object: An encephalocele is characterized by congenital herniation of the brain tissue and/or meninges through a skull defect. The underlying cause is complex and not fully understood, but environmental agents are suspected. The authors aimed to determine the known risk factors for encephaloceles.

Methods: Potential risk factors were studied in 31 children with encephaloceles who had been referred to the outpatient clinic. At the same time, 31 children with non-CNS anomalies were randomly selected from the same hospital as a control group. Both cohorts were assessed in person through interviews with the mothers.

Results: Most children with encephaloceles were female. There was no significant risk factor in the case group as compared with controls, although the families of patients with encephaloceles had a better economic status (p=0.03) and the fathers had a higher mean age.

Conclusions: Although the authors of this study could not identify any significant risk factors for encephaloceles, environmental factors can still be mentioned as probable etiological elements. Additional studies with larger sample sizes and more comprehensive evaluations are required to confirm the role of environmental or genetic factors to prevent the occurrence of encephaloceles.