Malnutrition is a possible cause of a cleft deformity.
Especially children are hit by poverty.
Causes
One third of the Indian population lives on less than one US Dollar per day. This leads to a depressed standard of living, which in turn is another possible explanation for cleft formation.
The causes of these malformations result from a complicated mixture of endogenous and exogenous factors. Approximately 15 percent of cleft formations occur in families in which clefts have occurred before. Other factors such as a one-sided vegetarian diet and vitamin deficiency (folic acid) also lead to an increased risk of cleft formations. This is of particular significance given that one third of the Indian population still lives below the poverty line and is struggling with malnutrition.