Who is affected by cleft lip and cleft palate

The incidence of cleft lip with or without cleft palate varies by ethnic group and gender; Asians have the highest incidence and African Americans have the lowest.¹ Cleft lip occurs with or without cleft palate in about 1 in 750 white births. Cleft palate alone occurs in approximately 1 in 2,500 white births.¹ Cleft lip and cleft palate appear together in approximately:²

• 1 in 1,000 white births.
• 2 in 1,000 Asian births.
• 1 in 2,000+ African-American births.

Of all incidences:²

• Cleft lip alone (isolated) accounts for about 21% of all cleft cases. Isolated cleft lip is more common in males than females.
• Cleft palate (on the soft palate) alone accounts for about 33% of all cleft cases. These occur more often in females than males, but the incidence among different ethnic groups is even.
• Cleft lip with cleft palate accounts for about 46% of cases. Of these combination cases, 60% to 80% occur in males.

Citations

1. Tinanoff N (2004). Cleft lip and cleft palate. In RE Behrman et al., eds., Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 17th ed., pp. 1207–1208. Philadelphia: Saunders.

2. Kirschner RE, LaRossa D (2000). Cleft lip and cleft palate. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, 33(6): 1191–1215.