Background: Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common causes of developmental disability in the world with a prevalence of 1:800 live births. Persons born with DS are at increased risk for various health conditions, including thyroid disease, leukemia, congenital heart defects, gastrointestinal tract abnormalities, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. Despite this increased risk of chronic disease, life expectancy for individuals with DS has continued to improve with an estimated mean survival approaching 60 years of age.
Aim and objectives: To study lipid profile in patients with Down syndrome compared to normal children.
Subjects and methods: This is a cross sectional analytic study that was carried out on a total of 100 children; 50 children previously diagnosed as Down syndrome by karyotyping and attending Bab Al sharia University Hospital and Alexandria University Hospital, and 50 healthy children as a control group during the period from February 2021 to January 2022, they were selected by simple random method. All studied children were subjected medical history (with special emphasis on age, sex and family history of ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular accidents), clinical examination (with special emphasis on weight, height, body mass index and blood pressure) and laboratory investigations (TC, HDL, TG and LDL).
Results: Down syndrome cases had values of triglyceride statistically higher than healthy children. DS had values of cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein statistically higher than healthy children. Healthy children had values of high-density lipoprotein statistically higher than DS. We found no correlation between sex and different elements of lipid profile within Down syndrome group and no correlation between age and different elements of lipid profile within the two groups.
Conclusion: Down syndrome cases had values of triglyceride, cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein statistically higher than healthy children. Healthy children had values of high density lipoprotein statistically higher than DS.