A few facts about Down’s syndrome

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article listing a few facts about Down’s syndrome, presumably in support of this feature about the spotlight being placed on Down’s syndrome following Sarah Palin’s appointment as Republican VP candidate.

Here are some of the key stats (I assume that these figures relate to the US only, the article doesn’t specify):

Forty percent of children with Down syndrome have congenital heart defects.

The life expectancy of people with Down’s syndrome is 55 years, up from 25 years in 1983.

“The number of births of Down syndrome children has declined by 8 percent since 1989, and the number is expected to decline further after a recommendation last year by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that all mothers undergo screening for Down syndrome.”

88 percent of children born with Down syndrome are born to women under 35.

Eighty percent of pregnant women who receive a definitive prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome choose to terminate their pregnancies.”

The list was put together from sources such as “National Down Syndrome Society; National Association for Down Syndrome; Dr. Brian Skotko, co-author “Common Threads: Celebrating Life With Down Syndrome” and pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Boston”. More details here.