• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.187-208
• /
• 2006

Objectives: This study was carried out to evaluate the risk factors of Oral cleft and to inspect the living environments of the rural areas of Sintang, Indonesia Methods: During 3 to 9 August 2004, A questionnaire survey was done for the risk factors of oral cleft. Case group was composed of 11 oral cleft patients who admitted Missionary Hospital whose mother's bloods were analyzed for anemia and hyperlipidemia. Control group was composed of 56 reproductive rural women recruited from near rural villages. Also we surveyed 4 rural areas of Indonesia with simple water test kits. $x^2-test$ for significant difference was analysed. Results: Drinking water was statistically significant risk factor(p<0.05) of oral cleft. Other factors had no statistical significancy. The kind of drinking water was river-originated water. In rural villages, water sanitation state, even boiled water, was very poor. Although $NO_2-N$, $NO_3-N$ was negative, E. coli-form microorganisms were strongly positive in most samples. Total food intake amount was not enough, and vitamin supplements were also under the need. Conclusions: Drinking the contaminated river-water around pregnancy was supposed to be one of the risk factors of oral cleft in Indonesia. Further study is needed for nitrate and mercury.