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Facts About Down Syndrome
- Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, is a condition where a person is born with three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two.
- Because of the lack of understanding and fear, the pregnancy termination rate is at a shocking 85%.
- In the U.S., Down syndrome is the least funded major genetic condition by our National Institutes of Health despite being the most frequent chromosomal disorder. Because of this, and because of lack of funding from other government organizations, there is surprisingly little known definitively about the condition.
- Down syndrome is the most frequently occurring chromosomal disorder and the leading cause of intellectual and developmental delay in the U.S. and in the world.
- Down syndrome is named after the English doctor, John Langdon Down, who was the first to categorize the common features of people with the condition.
- There are approximately 450,000 people with Down syndrome in the United States, and an estimated six million people with Down syndrome worldwide.
- Each year, about 6,000 babies born in the United States have Down syndrome. This means that Down syndrome occurs in about 1 in every 700 babies.
- Down syndrome has nothing to do with race, nationality, socioeconomic status, religion, or anything the mother or father did during pregnancy.
Learn More
There's a lot more to know about Down syndrome and we encourage you to continue your own reading at the Global Down Syndrome organization website.