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
. 2023 Dec;193(4):e32072.
doi: 10.1002/ajmg.c.32072. Epub 2023 Oct 24.

Co-occurring conditions in Down syndrome: Findings from a clinical database

Nicole T Baumer  1   2   3 , Margaret A Hojlo  1 , Katherine G Pawlowski  1 , Anna L Milliken  1 , Angela M Lombardo  1 , Sabrina Sargado  1   3 , Cara Soccorso  1   3 , Emily J Davidson  1   3   4 , William J Barbaresi  1   3
Affiliations

Co-occurring conditions in Down syndrome: Findings from a clinical database

Nicole T Baumer et al. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) experience a range of medical and neurodevelopmental conditions, necessitating systematic study of their occurrence and impact on neurodevelopmental outcomes. We describe the prevalence and relationships of medical, neurodevelopmental (ND), and mental health (MH) conditions in children with DS. We created a prospective clinical database of individuals with DS, integrated into the workflow of a specialty Down Syndrome Program at a specialty pediatric referral hospital. Conditions were collected through caregiver- and clinician report at clinical visits (N = 599). We calculated frequencies of medical, ND, and MH conditions and then assessed the relationship between medical, ND, and MH conditions using frequencies and comparative statistics. The most frequent co-occurring conditions were vision (72.5%), ear/hearing (71.0%), gastrointestinal (61.3%), respiratory (45.6%), and feeding (33.6%) problems, with variation in frequency by age. ND and MH conditions were reported in one quarter, most commonly autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Those with ND and MH conditions had greater frequency of medical conditions, with highest rates of vision, ear/hearing, and gastrointestinal issues, and CHD. Systematically collected clinical data in a large cohort of children with DS reveals high prevalence of several co-occurring medical, ND, and MH conditions. Clinical care requires an understanding of the complex relationship between medical conditions and neurodevelopment.

Keywords: Down syndrome; clinical database; co-occurring medical conditions; co-occurring neurodevelopmental disorders.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Alexander, M., Petri, H., Ding, Y., Wandel, C., Khwaja, O., & Foskett, N. (2016). Morbidity and medication in a large population of individuals with Down syndrome compared to the general population. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 58(3), 246-254. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.12868
    1. Alsaffar, M., Balfe, J., McGrane, F., Nadeem, M., Quinn, S., & Molloy, E. (2019). Coeliac disease in children with Down syndrome in Ireland. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 104(2), 200-201. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2018-314846
    1. Alsaied, T., Marino, B. S., Esbensen, A. J., Anixt, J. S., Epstein, J. N., & Cnota, J. F. (2016). Does congenital heart disease affect neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with Down syndrome? Congenital Heart Disease, 11(1), 26-33. https://doi.org/10.1111/chd.12322
    1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
    1. Anil, M. A., Shabnam, S., & Narayanan, S. (2019). Feeding and swallowing difficulties in children with Down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 63, 992-1014. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12617

Publication types

MeSH terms