EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DOWN’S SYNDROME & Β- THALASSEMIA IN INDIA

Down’s syndrome and Beta (β) Thalassemia are commonly prevalent genetic diseases
worldwide. Down’s syndrome is predominantly caused by an extra copy of chromosome
21 or trisomy 21. Maternal age above 35 years significantly increases the chances of a
Down’s syndrome birth. In India, there are approximately 21,000 Down’s syndrome
births every year. β-Thalassemia is a blood disorder caused by abnormal synthesis of the
β chains of hemoglobin. India has over 35-45 million carriers of this disease. This is a
survey-based study, which aims to understand the epidemiology of Down’s syndrome
and Beta Thalassemia in the Indian population. This online survey was answered by 297
Indian or Indian origin adults. Both females and males were the respondents. Results of
the study indicated that prevalence of Down’s syndrome is low in India while that of βthalassemia ismoderate. The correlation between the maternal and paternal ages at the
time of birth of a Downs syndrome affected person was determined and the analyses
showed that there was apositive correlation.