Number of babies born with Down syndrome increases by one-third

Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder that affects an approximated 1 in 800 births or 5,400 infants in the U.S. annually. The number of U.S. babies born with Down syndrome has increased by almost one-third over the last three decades, despite the growing number of women who deciding to end those pregnancies, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

From 9.0 infants born with Down syndrome per 10,000 live births in 1979, the prevalence increased to 11.8 per 10,000 in 2003 across 10 geographically, ethnically, and culturally diverse U.S. states, Mikyong Shin, DrPH, of the CDC, and colleagues reported in the December issue of Pediatrics.

The most plausible cause for the increase is that women are wafting longer to have kids, which increases the odds of a baby being born with Down syndrome. “The prevalence of Down syndrome is five times higher among births to women who are 35 years of age and older,” says Correa.

“Determination of whether health services are meeting the needs of an increasing number of aging individuals with Down syndrome to ensure a healthy life across the life span is likely to require more extensive data linkages of health databases on individuals with Down syndrome,” the researchers wrote. They added that development and maintenance of long-term longitudinal registries would be integral to these efforts.

The research also found that Down syndrome prevalence at birth was consistently elevated among non-Hispanic whites than among non-Hispanic blacks. In addition, the study showed that Down syndrome prevalence was consistently higher among males than females, regardless of race, ethnicity, or age group.

The report was published in the November 30 issue of Pediatrics.