AlaskaBirth Defects Registry (ABDR)

Alaska Birth Defects Registry (ABDR)

Established in January 1996 under the Alaska AdministrativeCode (7AAC 27.012), ABDR is a passive surveillance program that collects and provides information on the number of infants with birth defects born to Alaska residents.

Jan 2019

The registry has updated its reporting provisions outlined in 7 AAC 27.012 to reduce the reporting burden on partners, improve detection of defects and align surveillance activities with national standards. This update expands the list of organizations required to report and includes all private/public health insurance organizations and diagnostic laboratories operating in the state. Reporting is now restricted to children aged less than 3 years old, at the time of diagnosis. Additionally, maternal identifiers (name and date of birth) as well as agency national provider identifiers are required. Lastly, reporting frequency has been reduced from within 3 months of the date of service to semiannual.

A description of these updates is available at: http://epibulletins.dhss.alaska.gov/Document/Display?DocumentId=1996

For the updated regulations please visit: https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=191966

Most common birth defects reported to ABDR before age three,Alaska 2010–2014

*Report rates are based on raw unweighted reports to ABDR and likely DO NOT reflect actual defect prevalence, and are subject to coding error. Defect prevalence estimates incorporate medical records review for condition confirmation. see the discussion in 'Data analysis methods'.

**Among male infants only infants with birth defects born to Alaska residents