The journal Pediatrics has published a new study: “Trends in
survival among children with Down syndrome in 10 regions of the
United States.” You can read the article’s abstract here. See
below for a summary of the findings from this article. Main
Finding from this Study Survival among people with Down syndrome
improved in the United States over time. Importantly, the
greatest improvement in survival was among babies with Down
syndrome who were born with low birth weight or born with a
major heart defect. Although small racial/ethnic differences in
survival persist, these differences have lessened over time.
About this Study: - What is Down syndrome? Down syndrome is a
condition in which a baby has an extra chromosome. Chromosomes
are small “packages” of genes in the body. They determine how a
baby’s body forms during pregnancy and how, as the baby grows in
the womb and after birth, the baby’s body functions. Most people
have 46 chromosomes. Babies with Down syndrome have an extra
copy of one of these chromoso