Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Dec 3:1:51.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2014.00051. eCollection 2014.

Characteristics of adults with down syndrome: prevalence of age-related conditions

Angelo Carfì  1 , Manuela Antocicco  1 , Vincenzo Brandi  1 , Camilla Cipriani  1 , Francesca Fiore  1 , Donatella Mascia  1 , Silvana Settanni  1 , Davide L Vetrano  1 , Roberto Bernabei  1 , Graziano Onder  1
Affiliations

Characteristics of adults with down syndrome: prevalence of age-related conditions

Angelo Carfì et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Introduction: In the last decades, life expectancy of persons with Down syndrome (DS) has dramatically increased and it is estimated that they will be living as long as the general population within a generation. Despite being included among the progeroid syndromes, because of the presence of features typically observed in older adults, DS is still regarded as a disease of pediatric interest. Because limited knowledge is available on the clinical characteristics of adults with DS, this study aimed to assess clinical and non-clinical features of this population and to describe similarities to the geriatric population.

Methods: In this study, we described 60 adults with DS evaluated at the Day Hospital of the Geriatric Department of the Policlinico A. Gemelli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome. Individuals were assessed through a standardized protocol.

Results: The mean age of study participants was 38 years (range, 18-58 years) and 42 (70.0%) were women. Geriatric conditions were highly prevalent: severe cognitive impairment was diagnosed in 39 (65.0%) participants, behavioral symptoms were present in 25 (41.7%), and functional impairment in 23 (38.3%). Six (10.0%) participants lived in institutions and 11 (18.3%) were diagnosed as obese. The mean number of drugs used was 2.4; use of psychotropic drugs was highly prevalent. The most common chronic diseases were thyroid problems (44, 73.3%), followed by mood disorders (19, 31.7%), osteoporosis (18, 30.0%), and cardiac problems (10, 16.7%). Geriatric conditions and chronic diseases were more prevalent among participants aged ≥40 years.

Conclusion: Several similarities between older adults and adults with DS were observed. Comorbidities, geriatric conditions, cognitive and functional deficits, and social problems are highly prevalent in both populations, contributing to the high complexity of these patients' assessment and treatment.

Keywords: Down syndrome; aging; geriatric assessment; geriatric syndromes; multimorbidity; premature.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of use of psychotropic drugs by age groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis by gender.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Oliver C, Holland AJ. Down’s syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease: a review. Psychol Med (1986) 16:307–22.10.1017/S0033291700009120 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yang Q, Rasmussen SA, Friedman JM. Mortality associated with Down’s syndrome in the USA from 1983 to 1997: a population-based study. Lancet (2002) 359:1019–25.10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08092-3 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Racial disparities in median age at death of persons with Down syndrome – United States, 1968-1997. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep (2001) 50:463–5. - PubMed
    1. Glasson EJ, Sullivan SG, Hussain R, Petterson BA, Montgomery PD, Bittles AH. The changing survival profile of people with Down’s syndrome: implications for genetic counselling. Clin Genet (2002) 62:390–3.10.1034/j.1399-0004.2002.620506.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bittles AH, Glasson EJ. Clinical, social, and ethical implications of changing life expectancy in Down syndrome. Dev Med Child Neurol (2004) 46:282–610.1111/j.1469-8749.2004.tb00483.x - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources