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
. 2021 Apr 19;8(2):86-97.
doi: 10.17294/2330-0698.1824. eCollection 2021 Spring.

Prevalence of Common Disease Conditions in a Large Cohort of Individuals With Down Syndrome in the United States

Brian Chicoine  1   2 , Anne Rivelli  1   3 , Veronica Fitzpatrick  1   3 , Laura Chicoine  1   2 , Gengjie Jia  4   5 , Andrey Rzhetsky  4   5
Affiliations

Prevalence of Common Disease Conditions in a Large Cohort of Individuals With Down Syndrome in the United States

Brian Chicoine et al. J Patient Cent Res Rev. .

Abstract

Purpose: Given the current life expectancy and number of individuals living with Down syndrome (DS), it is important to learn common occurrences of disease conditions across the developmental lifespan. This study analyzed data from a large cohort of individuals with DS in an effort to better understand these disease conditions, inform future screening practices, tailor medical care guidelines, and improve utilization of health care resources.

Methods: This retrospective, descriptive study incorporated up to 28 years of data, compiled from 6078 individuals with DS and 30,326 controls matched on age and sex. Data were abstracted from electronic medical records within a large Midwestern health system.

Results: In general, individuals with DS experienced higher prevalence of testicular cancer, leukemias, moyamoya disease, mental health conditions, bronchitis and pneumonia, gastrointestinal conditions, thyroid disorder, neurological conditions, atlantoaxial subluxation, osteoporosis, dysphagia, diseases of the eyes/adnexa and of the ears/mastoid process, and sleep apnea, relative to matched controls. Individuals with DS experienced lower prevalence of solid tumors, heart disease conditions, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, influenza, sinusitis, urinary tract infections, and diabetes. Similar rates of prevalence were seen for lymphomas, skin melanomas, stroke, acute myocardial infarction, hepatitis, cellulitis, and osteoarthritis.

Conclusions: While it is challenging to draw a widespread conclusion about comorbidities in individuals with Down syndrome, it is safe to conclude that care for individuals with DS should not automatically mirror screening, prevention, or treatment guidelines for the general U.S. population. Rather, care for those with DS should reflect the unique needs and common comorbidities of this population.

Keywords: Down syndrome; comorbidities; epidemiology; family medicine; population health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest None.

References

    1. Kazemi M, Salehi M, Kheirollahi M. Down syndrome: current status, challenges and future perspectives. Int J Mol Cell Med. 2016;5:125–33. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facts about Down syndrome. [accessed November 1, 2020]. Last reviewed December 28, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/downsyndrome.html#ref.
    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. doi: 10.1034/j.1399-0004.2002.620506.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. National Down Syndrome Society. Down syndrome facts. [Accessed November 1, 2020]. https://www.ndss.org/about-down-syndrome/down-syndrome-facts/
    1. Bittles AH, Glasson EJ. Clinical, social, and ethical implications of changing life expectancy in Down syndrome. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2004;46:282–6. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2004.tb00483.x. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources