ABSTRACT

Introduction

Children and young adults with Down syndrome can demonstrate increased behavior problems compared to their typically developing peers through childhood and adolescence. This study aims to: (1) identify common patterns of behaviors in children and young adults with Down syndrome and (2) assess potential medical comorbidities that could increase the risk for behavioral challenges.

Methods

This retrospective, cross-sectional study identifies common patterns of behaviors in 378 children and young adults between 2 and 22 years of age with Down syndrome receiving care at a single medical center.

Results

Composite scores were developed for each of the four study factors: (1) Externalization, (2) Apprehension, (3) Internalization, and (4) Harm/Unrest. Analysis of variance was conducted on the influence of comorbidities on the four factors. Results indicated that the impact of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Autism, feeding problems, heart defect, infantile spasms, obstructive sleep apnea, and prematurity on problematic behaviors were statistically significant.

Conclusions

Our findings highlight the importance of addressing medical comorbidities to potentially reduce problematic behavior, while also identifying neurodevelopmental differences that result in categorical behavioral challenges for children and young adults with Down syndrome.

中文翻译：

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唐氏综合症的行为模式和合并症

摘要

介绍

与儿童和青少年时期通常发育的同龄人相比，唐氏综合症的儿童和年轻人可以表现出更多的行为问题。这项研究旨在：（1）识别患有唐氏综合症的儿童和年轻人的常见行为模式，以及（2）评估可能增加行为挑战风险的潜在医学合并症。

方法

这项回顾性的横断面研究确定了在2至22岁之间患有唐氏综合症的378名儿童和年轻人的常见行为模式，这些疾病在单个医疗中心接受治疗。

结果

针对以下四个研究因素中的每一个开发了综合评分：（1）外在化，（2）忧虑，（3）内部化和（4）危害/动荡。对合并症对这四个因素的影响进行方差分析。结果表明，注意缺陷多动障碍，自闭症，进食问题，心脏缺陷，婴儿痉挛，阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停和早产对问题行为的影响具有统计学意义。

结论

我们的发现突出了解决医学合并症以潜在减少有问题的行为的重要性，同时还发现了神经发育差异，这会导致唐氏综合症的儿童和青年人进行分类的行为挑战。