Introduction
Congenital malformations are a major cause of infant mortality and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Congenital heart defects, the most prevalent group of congenital malformations, occur in 4–8 of 1000 live births (van der Linde et al., 2011). In Israel, between 2000 and 2006, approximately 11,000 infants (1.1% of live births) were born with congenital heart defects with spatial clustering observed in the Tel Aviv region, Israel's largest metropolis with high concentrations of air pollution (Agay-Shay et al., 2011).