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SALT LAKE CITY -- A government study shows Utah babies are more likely to be born with Down syndrome than those in nine other states.
The study, published in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics, looked at 10 states. In nine states, one out of 848 babies had Down syndrome. In Utah, it's one in 730.
The study didn't explore why, but experts tell the Salt Lake Tribune Down syndrome could be more prevalent in Utah because of the high number of older mothers and fewer abortions in the state.
An older age increases the risk of the chromosomal disorder, and more Utah women continue to have babies into their late 30s and 40s.
The study says the prevalence of Down syndrome births nationally from 1999 to 2003 was 11.8 babies per 10,000 live births. In Utah, the prevalence was 13.7.
The study also looked at data from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
