High-risk population for Down syndrome: orthodox Jews in Jerusalem.

Data from 55 Jewish children with Down syndrome who were being followed at the Jerusalem Child and Family Rehabilitation Center were analyzed. The children were born between the years 1968 and 1982. Forty-one (75%) of them were from religiously observant families, whereas only 36% of school-age children in Jerusalem come from religious families. There was no difference between religious groups in mean age of parents, sex of the child, or ethnic origin (Ashkenazi or Sephardic), but a significant difference was found in the mean birth rank of religious and nonreligious children.