Life Expectancy of Spina Bifida
The life expectancy of individuals with spina bifida can vary. However, it is important to say, that nowadays, the presence of proper medical care can ameliorate the lives of these patients and help them. With proper care and treatment, many people with spina bifida can live into adulthood.
What Is Spina Bifida?
Spina bifida literally means “cleft spine”. It is a condition in which the spine and spinal cord are damaged. In this condition, the congenital neural tube causes the defect. In some cases, it can affect the brain as well [1]. What happens in this condition, is that the spinal column of the fetus does not close properly during the first month of the pregnancy throughout the embryonic period [2]. This can damage the nerves and spinal cord [3].
There are three different types of spina bifida [4]. These tree types are dependent on the extent of the neural tube defect [2]. These types can also vary in their effect on one’s body and can range from mild to severe.
- Closed Spinal Dysraphism or spina bifida occulata, refers to the bony defect of the vertebral arch.
- Spina Bifida Cystica is characterized by a protruding cyst of spinal fluid which does not damage the spinal cord nor the nerves surrounding the spine [2]. However, there might be slight differences to normal functioning [5].
- Spina Bifida Aperta is the most serious type of spina bifida. In this condition, the
Tissue and nerves are exposed, and the baby is more prone to infections. In addition, it may result in problems with the legs, bladder or bowel [5].
However, even these are individual and while others may have problems with leg paralysis, bowel or bladder problems, hydrocephalus (a buildup of fluid in the brain), and learning disabilities [4] in others it might not be as serious.
What Causes Spina Bifida?
Spina bifida is a direct cause of the failure of the caudal neural tube to fuse properly during embryonic development.
Although the exact cause is not well understood, genetics is believed to play an important role. For instance, certain chromosome abnormalities, single gene disorders and mutations in early regulating genes can contribute to the development of the condition [5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. However, a newborn child, does not necessarily have to have relatives with the condition [6].
Other findings suggesting that the development of spina bifida might be due to external factors are studies on folic acid during pregnancy. It has been shown that up to 70% of spina bifida cases can be prevented by maternal, periconceptional folic acid supplementation [10, 4, 5]. If you are wondering what folic acid is, it is a B vitamin and can be found in broccoli, brown rice or even fortified cereals. However, it can also be taken as supplementation.
Other environmental factors which may increase the risk of spina bifida development are obesity or poorly controlled diabetes in the mother. Further, it can be the use of certain medications during pregnancy like valproate and carbamazepine ( used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder) [4, 6].
What Is The Life Expectancy Of Spina Bifida?
The life expectancy of an individual with spina bifida can vary. It typically affects individuals from their birth throughout their lives however, the advancements in medical care have improved the life expectancy of such individuals.
To be precise, in the first week of life, the mortality rate for newborns with spina bifida is 6.9% [11]. As the child grows older, the survival rate improves. For instance, by the age of 5, the survival rate ranges from 86% to 96% in North America and 90 % to 96% in Europe [11].
It is important to note, that the survival rates in the first year of a baby’s life have risen from 75% to 94% in the past few decades.
Another positive statistic is that many patients with spina bifida are over 18 years old, which signals that many individuals with this condition are living into adulthood [12]. In fact, some individuals with Spina Bifida have lived into their 80s [13].
Therefore it is hard to predict what the life expectancy of an individual with spina bifida should be, as it is possible to live a long meaningful life with such a condition nowadays. However, it is important to say that these patients still have complex medical needs and may require ongoing care throughout their lives[14].