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Is there any proven or anecdotal link between Down syndrome and fraternal or sororal disability?

  • I ask this question sympathetically and with the best possible intentions, but I understand it might come across as a little blunt (for which I apologise). I know 7 different people who have Down syndrome. All of them have at least 1 brother or sister, and in all of those 7 cases the brother or sister has some recognised disability. In most cases, it is a learning disability (including autism/aspergers). In some, there is a wider family history of disability (severe, in fact). I understand that Down syndrome is not 'hereditary' per se, but at the same time it is my understanding that Translocation Down Syndrome makes up approximately 4 - 5% of all Down Syndrome cases and that this form of Down Syndrome very much IS hereditary (from an unaffected parent to the DS child). My question, therefore, is as follows: Is there any link - either proven or currently in research - that connects Down Syndrome in one sibling with disability in other siblings within that family? Or - in other words - is the fact that all of those people I know who have DS all have a sibling with a substantial learning or physical disability a pure co-incidence, or is there some causal link which researchers haven't fully understood through their work at this time?

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    I believe this is coincidental more than anything else.  But I do w... You must be signed in to read this answer.Connected to GoogleConnected to FacebookBy continuing you indicate that you have read and agree to the .  Loading account...Complete Your ProfileFull NameChecking...EmailChecking...PasswordChecking...By creating an account you indicate that you have read and agree to the .

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A complete answer to your question would require a full literature review, and I have not done that. What I can say is that I have read a lot of the mainstream material on Down syndrome and none of it hints at such a connection (with the exception of translocation DS, which as you note, has a hereditary component). That said, the one known risk factor for DS, advanced maternal age, may also correlate with other disability, and is almost certainly correlated with advanced paternal age, which is showing up in a number of recent studies as being correlated with various maladies. And the mechanisms of what causes children to be born with DS are not entirely understood. So the phenomenon you describe may not be entirely coincidental (though not necessarily hereditary). From the anecdotal perspective, I have a child with Down syndrome and another child who is entirely typical. I know many other families in the same circumstance, but only one or two who have a child with DS and another child with another serious disability. So while your experience may not be entirely coincidental, I also would not say it's the norm.

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