Nutritional Status and Risk Factors for Chronic Disease in Urban-Dwelling Adults With Down Syndrome

Abstract

Nutritional status and biochemical risk factors for chronic disease were assessed in 48 community-dwelling adults with Down syndrome in the Chicago area. Dietary intake was measured using a food frequency questionnaire completed by the participant's primary caregiver; anthropometric measures included height and weight and waist circumference. Plasma glucose and lipid concentrations were assessed following a 10-hour fast. Overall, 89% of participants were overweight or obese, 54% had large waist circumferences, and none met the current guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake. Mean concentrations for lipids and glucose, however, were within normal limits; and prevalence for hypertension, elevated lipids, and glucose were less than those for the general population of the United States.

Body mass index and waist circumference of Latin American adult athletes with intellectual disability

“…The mean WC reported in a USA sample of men and women with Down syndrome was 100.4cm and 104.1cm, respectively; 5 whereas in this study mean WC measures were 83.7cm for men and 80.5cm for women. The proportion of adults with WC measures indicative of abdominal obesity in the USA study among persons with Down syndrome 5 was 54% compared to 21% in the present study (19.6% for men and 24.5% for women). This large disparity in the rate of abdominal obesity was also evident among women with intellectual disabilities in general from Taiwan, where the reported rate was 59%.…”

“…This is of particular concern since evidence suggests that among those who are overweight, high WC is a strong predictor of adverse metabolic profiles. 31 Although there is some preliminary evidence that higher WC is associated with adverse metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes among adults with intellectual disabilities, 5,8 considerably more work needs to be done to document the health risks associated with abdominal obesity in this population, particularly with clinical sub-groups that may not show the same metabolic profile as others with intellectual disability. For example, Braunschweig and colleagues 5 found that the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease were within a desirable range among adults with Down syndrome, despite high rates of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity.…”

“…1,4 High BMIs are also associated with higher serum triglyceride and fasting glucose levels, 5 unsatisfactory oral health status, 6 and more sleep disturbance. 7 Although the abdominal obesity of adults with intellectual disabilities has been studied less often, abdominal obesity assessed via waist circumference (WC) is associated with higher fasting plasma glucose and triglyceride levels, 5 and hypertension.…”

“…[5][6][7][8] However, the degree to which adults with intellectual disabilities in Latin America experience overweight/obesity has rarely been examined and rates of abdominal obesity have not been examined. With the exception of one previous study which described the BMI status of Latin American Special Olympics participants for the period 2003 -2009 as part of a larger international sample, 10 studies of BMI among adults with intellectual disability in Latin America have been generally small in sample size and derived from single country samples, specifically: Argentina, 11 Brazil, 6,12 and Mexico.…”

Obesity and intellectual disability

“…Population-level prevalence data indicate that the obesity levels of adults with ID are either similar to or higher than their non-ID counterparts [Emerson, 2005;Yamaki, 2005]. Lack of healthy eating habits and regular physical activity, common factors associated with obesity in the general population [U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, 2001], are also growing problems among persons with ID [Draheim et al, 2002;Braunschweig et al, 2004;Emerson, 2005].Obesity results in significant societal and personal costs [Poston and Foreyt, 1999]. Among persons with ID, it has the potential to reduce or limit opportunities for various types of community participation, including employment and leisure.…”