Atherosclerotic Surrogate Markers in Adults With Down Syndrome: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

The authors aimed to compare surrogate markers of atherosclerosis (pulse wave velocity, intima-media thickness) between adults with and without Down syndrome (DS) and to assess the impact of parathyroid hormone levels and classic cardiovascular risk factors on arterial stiffness. After comparing 51 adults with DS and 51 healthy adults (siblings of DS individuals), the authors found that adults with DS seem to have lower arterial stiffness, as a result of chronic hypotension. Subclinical atherosclerosis parameters do not correlate with traditional cardiovascular risk factors in adults with DS, thus raising the hypothesis that classic predictive models for cardiovascular disease are not valid in this population. Hyperparathyroidism could play an important role in arterial damage in these individuals. The lower than expected prevalence of obesity and dyslipidemia could be explained by better eating habits, with this study being the first to address the anthropometric and clinical profile of a Mediterranean cohort of adults with DS.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest or external financial support.

©2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Figures

Figure 1

Differences in estimated peripheral and aortic blood pressures between groups adjusted for age and sex. SBP indicates systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; MBP, mean blood pressure; AoSBP, estimated aortic systolic blood pressure; AoDBP, estimated aortic diastolic blood pressure; AoPP, aortic pulse pressure.

Figure 2

Differences in surrogate markers of atherosclerosis between groups (A). Differences in carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and carotid intima‐media thickness (cIMT) in adults with Down syndrome (DS) regarding hyperparathyroidism status (B). PTH indicates parathyroid hormone.