Recent trends in incidence, morbidity and survival in Down's syndrome.

The numbers of young adults with Down's syndrome is currently increasing due to improvements in survival and a period of increased incident numbers in the 1960s. Deaths from infection have shown the largest decline. Forty-one per cent of survivors suffer from one or more serious morbid conditions, principally congenital heart disease. These changes are adding to the pressures upon local authorities for day and residential care facilities.