Abstract

Background: Down syndrome being the most common chromosomal disorder is researched extensively. The only etiology that is well established is increased maternal age. In the developing countries, the incidence of Down syndrome is increasing in younger mother. Method: 75 cases of Down syndrome children and age matched 75 children without known congenital abnormalities were taken for this study. The parental age was noted and statistical analysis was done to correlate the maternal age withy DS. Result: Only 26.4% of DS children were born in mothers aged above 35. There was a decrease in number of children born in aged mothers of both group, but there was no much difference in the groups. Conclusion: Maternal age is not only the risk factor for occurrence of DS. There is generally a tendency of early pregnancy in India, which leads to increase in number of DS children being born to mothers below 35.

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