SEOUL -- The number of babies born with defects in 2014 was 1.6 times the 2008 figure, with the rate rising every year, research showed Wednesday.
According to the research by Inha University School of Medicine, 563 out of 10,000 newborns had some sort of internal or external problem with their body in 2014, up from 336 per 10,000 in 2008.
The data was based on 3.28 million babies born between 2008 and 2014. The findings were published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
"The rate of congenital birth defects, considered a main cause of deaths among newborns, is increasing every year," Prof. Lim Jong-han, who led the study, said of the results, emphasizing the importance of closely monitoring the issue.
The data showed that 188.9 out of 10,000 newborns had atrial septal defect, a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of the heart, in 2014, up from 82.2 per 10,000 in 2008. (Yonhap)
