Delayed Motherhood Increases the Risk of Down syndrome: Metropolis Study

Mumbai Nov 03, 2014: Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes mental retardation and abnormal physical growth. Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21 (trisomy 21). Down syndrome increases risk for certain medical conditions such as congenital heart defects, respiratory, hearing problems, childhood leukemia, and thyroid conditions. It affects about 1 in 800 babies worldwide and in India every year more than 23,000 babies are born with Down syndrome.

October is observed as Down syndrome Awareness Month globally. In order to understand the intensity of the chromosomal disorder in India, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd, the Pathology Specialist, conducted a comprehensive study on 38,081 prenatal screening samples processed in 2014.

Prenatal screening is necessary to reveal disorder or conditions that affect the fetus and help improve outcome of pregnancy. There are two types of prenatal screening that are available; Noninvasive Methods like Ultrasonography and Biochemical test like Dual marker test in the first trimester (8 to 13.6 weeks gestation age), Triple marker test in the second trimester (14 to 22.6 weeks),and Quadruple marker test in the third trimester (14 to 22.6 weeks gestation age). The other type of screening is Invasive procedures like Amniocentesis and Chorionic villous sampling.

In prenatal Biochemical markers screening of over 38,081 samples, 6.13% of the total samples were at the risk of Down syndrome. That is over 2334 samples were found positive for Downs Syndrome Risk. The increasing trend of late marriages and delayed first pregnancy that usually occurs between the age group of 31-35 years increases the risk of having a baby born with the syndrome.