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Who Is Affected by Down Syndrome

Down syndrome occurs in all cultures, ethnic groups, socioeconomic levels, and geographic locations.

  • About 1 out of 733 babies born in the U.S. has Down syndrome. 2
  • The risk of a 20-year-old woman having a baby with trisomy 21-type Down syndrome is 1 in about 2,000. By age 45, a woman's risk for having a child with this type of Down syndrome is 1 in 20. 1

Citations

  1. Roizen NJ (2007). Down syndrome. In ML Batshaw et al., eds., Children with Disabilities, 6th ed., pp. 263–273. Baltimore: Paul H. Brooks Publishing.
  2. Smith RP (2008). Down syndrome. In Netter's Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2nd ed., pp. 410–412. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
By Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer Susan C. Kim, MD - Pediatrics
Specialist Medical Reviewer Louis Pellegrino, MD - Developmental Pediatrics
Last Revised July 20, 2011

Last Revised: July 20, 2011

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: Susan C. Kim, MD - Pediatrics & Louis Pellegrino, MD - Developmental Pediatrics

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