Incidence of legal abortions and congenital abnormalities in Hungary.

The annual and monthly distributions of congenital abnormalities and pregnancy outcomes as confounding factors were evaluated in Hungary in reflection of the accident at the Chernobyl reactor. The different congenital abnormality entities and the components of fetal radiation syndrome did not show a higher rate after the Chernobyl accident in the data-set of the Hungarian Congenital Abnormality Registry. Among confounding factors, the rate of induced abortions did not increase after the Chernobyl accident in Hungary. In the 9th month after the peak of public concern (May and June, 1986) the rate of livebirths decreased. Three indicator conditions: 15 sentinel anomalies as indicators of germinal dominant gene mutations, Down syndrome as an indicator of germinal numerical and structural chromosomal mutations, and unidentified multiple congenital abnormalities as indicators of germinal dominant gene and chromosomal mutations were selected from the material of the Hungarian Congenital Abnormality Registry. Diagnoses were checked, familial and sporadic cases were separated and only the sporadic cases were evaluated. The analysis of indicator conditions did not reveal any measurable germinal mutagenic effect of the Chernobyl accident in Hungary.