Medical Conditions (The most common) Heart Defects
About 40 – 50% of children with Down syndrome are born with heart defects such as congenital heart disease. (The reason why only about half of the Down syndrome population is born with heart defects is still unknown to scientists. There is still much work remaining to understand why certain problems arise in some patients but not others).
It is not uncommon for a very young infant or child to undergo a correctional heart surgery
Infections
It is quite common for there to be an array of infections in early childhood such as respiratory and ear infections
No serious problems in the immune system of a person with Down syndrome have been discovered as of now but some abnormalities in the body's defense system do exist.
Visual Impairments
It has also been discovered that a very common condition is a visual impairment - This occurs in about 60% of Down syndrome individuals
Hearing Impairments
Many people with Down syndrome also have mild to moderate hearing impairments
This is usually a result of an increased amount of wax in the ear canal, fluid in the middle ear, or generally small ear tubes
Alzheimer's Disease
Most recent studies have shown a probable connection between Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's - about 15-25% of older individuals with Down Syndrome are diagnosed