Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily life, mood, and behavior of adults with Down syndrome.
Sigan L Hartley, Victoria Fleming, Brianna Piro-Gambetti and 15 others
PMID 35256308WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers reported that many adults with Down syndrome lost jobs or day programs, had more anxiety, irritability, sadness, sleep problems, and less exercise.
Some became happier, but most impacts were stressful.
Key findings
01Of the 127 adults employed before the pandemic, 113 stopped working; of the 82 adults attending a day program before the pandemic, 69 stopped attending.
02Compared with before the pandemic, caregivers reported 76 adults slightly or somewhat more anxious, 12 adults a lot or extremely more anxious, 50 adults slightly or somewhat more irritable, 7 adults a lot or extremely more irritable, and 70 adults slightly to a lot more sad, depressed, or unhappy.
03Caregivers reported 20 adults had fairly bad to very bad sleep quality, 19 took sleep medication at least once in the past month, 42 had trouble staying awake at least once in the past month, and 70 had problems getting enough enthusiasm to get things done.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample from an ongoing Alzheimer's biomarker cohort, not a representative sample of adults with Down syndrome. The analyzed sample was younger and less likely to have a clinical status of Alzheimer's disease than the larger ABC-DS sample. Caregivers reported changes on average across several months, which could miss short-term severe changes. The study asked caregivers, not the adults with Down syndrome. Clinical status and physical health were from a previous visit an average of 11 months before the survey. Few adults had tested positive for COVID-19, so effects in those with infection are not captured. The authors grouped response options, which may minimize or exaggerate differences. It is unclear whether low exercise and time outside were pandemic changes or prepandemic patterns.
Declared interests
No author conflict-of-interest statement is included in the supplied text. The supplied publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that a treatment caused or fixed these changes. It is a caregiver-reported convenience survey without a control group, pre-pandemic baseline, or tested intervention, so it describes reported impacts, not proven effects.