Weight status and associated comorbidities in children and adults with Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual and developmental disabilities.
L T Ptomey, D L Walpitage, M Mohseni and 5 others
PMID 32716138WHAT IT FOUND
Children and adults with Down syndrome had the highest overweight or obesity rates, especially adult females.
Across diagnoses, overweight or obesity was associated with sleep apnea, diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid problems. Race showed no clear differences.
Key findings
0153.8% of adults with Down syndrome were classified as obese.
02Adult females with Down syndrome and adult females with other intellectual/developmental disabilities had higher overweight or obesity risk than males.
03In adults with autism spectrum disorder, overweight or obesity was associated with sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypothyroidism.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study used existing medical records from one academic medical center, so the patients may not represent people in other regions or settings. Comorbidities were only those recorded in the medical record and only when the patient sought care, so some conditions may have been missed. The initial eligible sample was 13,098, but the weight analysis was limited to people with usable repeated measurements, leaving 468 with Down syndrome, 1658 with autism spectrum disorder, and 604 with other intellectual/developmental disabilities. Weight change was not statistically compared by sex or race because measurement intervals, ages, and subgroup sizes differed. Children with other intellectual/developmental disabilities had too little data to determine associations between weight status and comorbidity risk.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were declared. The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the associations as proof that overweight or obesity caused sleep apnea, diabetes, hypertension, or thyroid problems. The study reported associations from medical records, and no weight treatment was tested.