title: Maternal age and Down syndrome: age-specific incidence rates by single-year intervals.
abstract: Maternal age-specific risks of giving birth to a child with the Down syndrome (DS) are given by single-year age intervals. Such data are of value for more precise genetic counseling and in cost-benefit analyses of prenatal diagnosis programs. The data were obtained by linking records of children with DS at the British Columbia Health Surveillance Registry ( BCHSR ) to the appropriate birth registrations to derive maternal ages. The data related to 519 affected children out of a total of 354,880 live births in British Columbia between 1961 and 1970. The results, which are based on a high level of ascertainment, are compared to those reported in the only other published study relating to risks by single-year maternal age groupings, where completeness of ascertainment was estimated to be only 38%.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001955:British Columbia; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D012306:Risk