Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov 14;18(22):11954.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph182211954.

Down Syndrome in Brazil: Occurrence and Associated Factors

Mariana Rabello Laignier  1 , Luís Carlos Lopes-Júnior  1 , Raquel Esperidon Santana  2 , Franciéle Marabotti Costa Leite  1 , Carolina Laura Brancato  2
Affiliations

Down Syndrome in Brazil: Occurrence and Associated Factors

Mariana Rabello Laignier et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Down syndrome is the most frequent genetic cause of intellectual disability, with an estimated birth prevalence of 14 per 10,000 live births. In Brazil, statistical data on the occurrence of babies born with Down syndrome remain unclear. We aimed to estimate the occurrence of Down syndrome between 2012 and 2018, and to observe its association with maternal, gestational, paternal characteristics, and newborn vitality.

Methods: A retrospective study was carried out using secondary data included in the Certificate of Live Birth in a state located in the southeastern region of Brazil. Data analysis was performed in the software Stata 14.1. Pearson's chi-square test for bivariate analysis, and logistic regression for multivariate analysis were performed, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a significance of 5%.

Results: We observed that 157 cases of Down syndrome were reported among 386,571 live births, representing an incidence of 4 in 10,000 live births. Down syndrome was associated with maternal age ≥ 35 years, paternal age ≥ 30 years, the performance of six or more prenatal consultations, prematurity, and low birth weight (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Women aged 35 and over were more likely to have children born with Down syndrome. In addition, there is an association of Down syndrome with premature birth, low birth weight, and the number of prenatal consultations (≥6).

Keywords: Down syndrome; certificate of live birth; child health; epidemiology; information systems; newborn.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Patterson D. Molecular genetic analysis of Down syndrome. Hum. Genet. 2009;126:195–214. doi: 10.1007/s00439-009-0696-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aivazidis S., Coughlan C.M., Rauniyar A.K., Jiang H., Liggett L.A., Maclean K.N., Roede J.R. The burden of trisomy 21 disrupts the proteostasis network in Down syndrome. PLoS ONE. 2017;12:e0176307. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176307. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ghezzo A., Salvioli S., Solimando M.C., Palmieri A., Chiostergi C., Scurti M., Lomartire L., Bedetti F., Cocchi G., Follo D., et al. Age-related changes of adaptive and neuropsychological features in persons with Down Syndrome. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e113111. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113111. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Antonarakis S.E. Human chromosome 21: Genome mapping and exploration circa 1993. Trends Genet. 1993;9:142–148. doi: 10.1016/0168-9525(93)90210-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Thuline H.C., Pueschel S.M. Cytogenetics in Down Syndrome. In: Pueschel S.M., Rynders J.E., Syndrome D., editors. Advances in Biomedicine and the Behavioral Sciences. Ware Press; Cambridge, UK: 1982. p. 133.