health

People with Down syndrome have a shortened life expectancy and a high
risk of early Alzheimer disease, often showing a noticeable loss of mental
function by age forty. About 85 percent of babies born with trisomy 21
survive the first year of life, but only 50 percent will live to reach age fifty,
according to data available in 2008. This is a great improvement, however,
as the life expectancy of a person with Down syndrome was only
twenty-five years as recently as 1980.
Congenital heart disorders are one reason for the present high mortality
rate, as are vulnerability to infections, a high rate of disorders of the
digestive tract, and premature aging. Children with Down syndrome are
also more likely to develop leukemia than other children.
It is not possible to tell at birth whether a baby with Down syndrome
will be severely retarded or will have low-normal intelligence.
Individualized assessment of the child is critical to providing opportunities
for full development. In general, children with mosaic Down
syndrome have higher IQ scores than children with full trisomy 21.
There are many adults with the syndrome who are able to hold jobs
and live independently; some have become successful artists, actors,
and singers.