The role of different factors in the development of cleft lip, palate, or both

Background: Cleft lip and cleft palate refer to congenital malformations characterized by fissures or divisions in the upper lip, the palatal region of the mouth, or both. Cleft lip and cleft palate occur due to incomplete closure of face tissues during fetal development. Objective: To identify the primary elements that could contribute to the occurrence of cleft lip and palate. Subjects and methods: The sample included 1080 patients distributed between cleft lip only, cleft palate only, and cleft lip and palate. Parents of participants answered questions related to their medical and exposure history. Subjects were seen over 13 years, from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2022. Participants came to our hospital with ages from a few hours to 3 months. Results: The distribution of cleft types in the sample was as follows: 11.6% had cleft lip alone, 29.5% had cleft palate exclusively, and 57.3% had both cleft lip and palate. The most significant number of patients, 28%, were found to be first-born individuals. The majority of dads who exhibited patience were aged 30 years or older, accounting for 65% of the sample. Among these individuals, 8.6% had a concurrent systemic ailment, while 40% were identified as smokers. Most moms were between the age range of 16 to 30 years (65.4%). Incorporate additional factors into the analysis, including the presence of familial cleft history and psychiatric disorders. Conclusion: We found a high frequency of consanguinity between the parents maternal psychology factors such as fear, hearing bad news or hearing loud sounds like gunshots (prevalent during civilian war in Iraq between 2010-2014 years) among parents of children born with cleft lip and palate.