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Recent Trends in the United States

Melissa M. Adams, MPH; J. David Erickson, DDS, PhD; Peter M. Layde, MD; Godfrey P. Oakley, MD

JAMA. 1981;246(7):758-760.

Abstract
The crude incidence of Down's syndrome (DS) in the United States is currently about 1/1,000 births. Reduction in the proportion of births to women 35 years and older can account for a halving of the estimated percentage of DS births to this age group and a drop in the estimated crude incidence of DS from 1.33/1,000 births in 1960 to 0.99/1,000 births in 1978. Epidemiologic studies suggest that among women 35 years and older, the risk of having a child with DS has not changed. With the present distribution of maternal ages, prenatal diagnosis among women 35 years and older can result in no more than a 20% decrease in the crude incidence of DS. With continued use of prenatal diagnosis among older gravidas, upward of 80% of DS births will occur to younger mothers.

(JAMA 1981;246:758-760)

Author Affiliations
From the US Department of Health and Human Resources, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, Bureau of Epidemiology, Atlanta.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Centers for Disease Control, Bureau of Epidemiology, Atlanta, GA 30333 (Ms Adams).

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