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Testing for Down syndrome in the older woman: a risky business?
Author(s) -
HODGES Ryan J.,
WALLACE Euan M.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.2005.00482.x
Subject(s) - down syndrome , medicine , test (biology) , pregnancy , pediatrics , psychiatry , paleontology , genetics , biology
For over 30 years, antenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome has been offered on the basis of advanced maternal age. While this was appropriate in the 1970s, developments in antenatal screening have rendered this a most inefficient strategy that is associated with excessive costs and procedure‐related pregnancy losses. In this article we argue for a review of how we test for Down syndrome in the older woman.