Maternal age and Down syndrome: age-specific incidence rates by single-year intervals.

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%.