Down syndrome is not a disease, but a genetic variation, a chromosomal abnormality. To put it simply, a person with Down syndrome has got 47 chromosomes in total due to the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21, while the total number of chromosomes in an ordinary human being is only 46. Down syndrome is not a disease that can be cured, but rather a genetic difference. DS occurs by an error during cell division, which results in an extra copy added to the chromosome pair numbered 21. The sole reason that is known to cause Down syndrome is the age of pregnancy: the risk factor increases in pregnancies over the age of 35. However, as in general young women tend to have babies, 75-80% of children with Down syndrome are the babies of young mothers. DS does not bear any difference as to status of country, nationality, socio-economic class. DS prevalence is around 1 in every 800 births. Approximately 6 million people live with Down syndrome all over the world. Although there is no existing solid data, the number of people in Turkey with Down syndrome is believed to be around 100.000.
Source: www.downturkiye.com
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