Late pregnant women and the risks to Down Syndrome: a literature review

Abstract

Objective: To identify the main risks for the occurrence of Down Syndrome in later pregnant women. Methods: The methodological approach of this work is proposed to a compiled bibliographic research of qualitative approach and descriptive character through an integrative review of the literature. The databases used were the National Library of Medicine (PubMed), the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The descriptors used were "Prenatal", "Down syndrome" and "Maternal Age". Inclusion criteria were journal article, clinical trial, randomized or non-randomized clinical trials, case-control studies, cohort study, free access, published in English, Portuguese, Spanish, from 2017 to 2022 and over 35 years of age. Results: The main risk factor for the occurrence of Down Syndrome was advanced maternal age above 35 years (80%). The second risk factor identified were the cytogenetic alterations of the mother (26.6%). Final considerations: The study demonstrated consonance with the existing literature, where the main risk factor for Down syndrome in late pregnant women is their advanced age between 35-45 years, increasing the incidence as age increases.