Uploaded May 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
10 Interesting Facts about Down Syndrome
1. Trisomy 21 is the most common type of Down syndrome, with over 95% of cases falling into this category. It is caused when an embryo develops three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two.
2. Down Syndrome was initially referred to as “mongolism,” and Down syndrome did not become the official name until the 1970s.
3. Until the mid-1950s, hospitals and doctors encouraged parents to give children with Down syndrome to an institution by insinuating it would be too difficult to care for their child and their needs.
4. About one in every 700 babies born in the United States will have Down syndrome.
5. Common characteristics of Down syndrome include low muscle tone, small stature, upward-slanting eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm.
6. The only known link to increased likelihood of Down syndrome is higher maternal age. However, because younger women give birth more often than older women, 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35.
7. Women who give birth to a baby with Down syndrome have an increased chance of having a second child with the same condition (from 1 in 700 to about 1 in 100).
8. In 1960, average life expectancy for a person with Down syndrome was 10 years. By 2007, the average had risen to 47 years.
9. Black children born with Down syndrome have a lower life expectancy than their white counterparts.
10. About 50% of all babies with Down syndrome are born with a congenital heart defect.
10 Interesting Facts about Down Syndrome
1. Trisomy 21 is the most common type of Down syndrome, with over 95% of cases falling into this category. It is caused when an embryo develops three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two.
2. Down Syndrome was initially referred to as “mongolism,” and Down syndrome did not become the official name until the 1970s.
3. Until the mid-1950s, hospitals and doctors encouraged parents to give children with Down syndrome to an institution by insinuating it would be too difficult to care for their child and their needs.
4. About one in every 700 babies born in the United States will have Down syndrome.
5. Common characteristics of Down syndrome include low muscle tone, small stature, upward-slanting eyes, and a single deep crease across the center of the palm.
6. The only known link to increased likelihood of Down syndrome is higher maternal age. However, because younger women give birth more often than older women, 80% of children with Down syndrome are born to women under 35.
7. Women who give birth to a baby with Down syndrome have an increased chance of having a second child with the same condition (from 1 in 700 to about 1 in 100).
8. In 1960, average life expectancy for a person with Down syndrome was 10 years. By 2007, the average had risen to 47 years.
9. Black children born with Down syndrome have a lower life expectancy than their white counterparts.
10. About 50% of all babies with Down syndrome are born with a congenital heart defect.
