Heart defects — Approximately half of all babies with Down syndrome are born with (often repairable) heart defects. Usually, these defects affect the walls separating the four chambers of the heart.
Down syndrome varies in severity among individuals, causing lifelong intellectual disability and developmental delays. It's the most common genetic chromosomal disorder and cause of learning disabilities in children. It also commonly causes other medical abnormalities, including heart and gastrointestinal disorders.
Down syndrome patients have a higher incidence of endocrine problems (associated with thyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands) than the general population.
Down syndrome appears to cause spermatogenesis defects in men and premature menopause in women.
Almost one-half of babies with Down syndrome have congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common type of birth defect. CHD can lead to high blood pressure in the lungs, an inability of the heart to effectively and efficiently pump blood, and cyanosis (blue-tinted skin caused by reduced oxygen in the blood).
Can a couple with Down syndrome have children? It is often difficult for a couple with Down syndrome to conceive a child due to low fertility in the male and lack of ovulation in the female and the likelihood of entering menopause early.
Some of the common medical issues as outlined by the Guidelines for Adults with Down Syndrome include “congenital cardiac and gastrointestinal anomalies, autoimmune conditions, diverse leukemias, respiratory infections, sleep disorders, hearing and vision loss and early development of Alzheimer's-type dementia.”
Down syndrome is a genetic condition that happens when a child is born with an extra chromosome. The extra chromosome affects the way the child's brain and body develop, leading to developmental delays, intellectual disability, and an increased risk for certain medical issues.
Adults with Down syndrome are also prone to a wide range of gastrointestinal problems including reflux, obesity, constipation and diarrhoea.
In a sample of 75 children with trisomy for chromosome 21, or Down syndrome, there were 42 males and 33 females. The sex ratio was 1.30 which is statistically not significant (p greater than 0.05).
The rate of Down syndrome for both maternal and paternal age greater than 40 years is approximately 60 per 10,000 births, which is a six-fold increase compared with maternal and paternal ages less than 35 years of age. In this age group, the paternal contribution to Down syndrome was 50 percent.
Most individuals with Down syndrome have mild (IQ: 50–69) or moderate (IQ: 35–50) intellectual disability with some cases having severe (IQ: 20–35) difficulties. Those with mosaic Down syndrome typically have IQ scores 10–30 points higher than that.
Annular pancreas is linked with Down syndrome. About one-fourth of people with this condition also have Down syndrome.
(De Graaf et al., 2022). There is no definitive scientific research that indicates that Down syndrome is caused by environmental factors or the parents' activities before or during pregnancy. The additional partial or full copy of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome can originate from either parent.
The upper airway in individuals with Down's syndrome is narrower and there are also some structural differences in the lower respiratory tract and within the lung tissues. These differences combined with low muscle tone and a higher prevalence of obesity may predispose them to developing infections.
Pulmonary infectious disease is the leading cause of mortality in Down syndrome, caused by both intrinsic (morphological factors) and extrinsic (immune dysfunction) factors. Listed in each organ cartoon are genes implicated in disturbed heart, lung and immune function.
People with Down syndrome can expect to live to 60
In the 1940s, a child with Down syndrome had a life expectancy of 12 years. These days, their life expectancy is 60 years and a baby born with Down syndrome could live into their 80s — in line with the general population.
People with Down syndrome still have pain, it is just the responses to pain that are reduced and delayed. There are likely multiple factors contributing and we need to be aware and understand the differences in pain responses.
4,5 A Finnish study showed that, of a population of 129, only 9% had shown severe irritability, disturbing behaviour and physically attacked others, and 4% had been difficult to manage or even dangerous to others. 3 These aggressive behaviours were statisti- cally significant amongst male patients rather than females.
An atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) occurs when there are holes between the right and left sides of the heart, and the valves that control the blood flow between the two sides may not be formed correctly. AVSD is the most common congenital heart condition in children with Down syndrome.
Down syndrome is not new — in fact, the first evidence of its existence dates back 2,500 years. The facial features of DS are found in some ancient pottery and paintings. The syndrome is named after John Langdon Down, an English doctor who published a clinical description in 1866.
If someone in your family has a child with Down syndrome, you may wonder if you will, too. Even though Down syndrome is a genetic condition, in most cases, it is not passed down from other family members. Down syndrome (also called trisomy 21) is the most common chromosomal condition in the United States.
They have similar features due to extra genetic material that affects growth of the maxilla (part of the skull) and the bone, cartilage, and connective tissue in the head, known as the cranial neural crest. 15 It creates common Down syndrome features such as upturned, almond-shaped eyes and a smaller head.
People with Down syndrome can experience a variety of gastrointestinal issues. One of them is intolerance to foods containing lactose. Lactose is a sugar found in dairy products like milk and ice cream.