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Risk & Complications of Down Syndrome


Down syndrome risk factors are associated with the way in which the syndrome is classified. Listed below are some of the risk factors that could result in down syndrome:

  • The Age of the Mother: The risk of having a baby with down syndrome is way higher as the age of the mother increases. This fact holds true for other genetic problems as well. Most doctors believe that motherhood beyond that age of 35 years is a major risk factor in itself.
  • The risk of having a baby with genetic defects and abnormalities tends to be higher if the previous pregnancy met with a similar fate. The risk of having another baby with down syndrome is as high as 1 in a 100.
Besides these, research has not yet been able to link any environmental influences to the development of down syndrome in babies. Medical research is still looking for the answers as to what causes this abnormal division of cells and the manufacture of extra genetic material that leads to down syndrome. 
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References
  1. Melissa A. Davidson, Primary Care for Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome, Pediatric Clinics of North America, Volume 55, Issue 5, October 2008, Pages 1099-1111, ISSN 0031-3955, 10.1016/j.pcl.2008.07.001.
  2. Iris Teresa Schapira, Alejandra María Ferrari, Norma Aspres, Ana Belén Guardiol, Ana Inés Antoniutti, Roxana Bedacarratz, Down Syndrome: An Assessment of Infant Psychomotor Development and Its Impact on Social and Familial Integration, International Medical Review on Down Syndrome, Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2007, Pages 2-8, ISSN 2171-9748, 10.1016/S2171-9748(07)70043-0.
  3. D.J. Fidler, Down Syndrome, In: Editors-in-Chief:  Marshall M. Haith and Janette B. Benson, Editor(s)-in-Chief, Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development, Academic Press, San Diego, 2008, Pages 422-429, ISBN 9780123708779, 10.1016/B978-012370877-9.00053-0