Growth Charts for Children With Down Syndrome in the United States

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Children with Down syndrome (DS) have lower birth weights and grow more slowly than children without DS. Advances in and increased access to medical care have improved the health and well-being of individuals with DS; however, it is unknown whether their growth has also improved. Our objective was to develop new growth charts for children with DS and compare them to older charts from the United States and more contemporary charts from the United Kingdom. METHODS The Down Syndrome Growing Up Study (DSGS) enrolled a convenience sample of children with DS up to 20 years of age and followed them longitudinally. Growth parameters were measured by research anthropometrists. Sex-specific growth charts were generated for the age ranges birth to 36 months and 2 to 20 years using the LMS method. Weight-for-length and BMI charts were also generated. Comparisons with other curves were presented graphically. RESULTS New DSGS growth charts were developed by using 1520 measurements on 637 participants. DSGS growth charts for children <36 months of age showed marked improvements in weight compared with older US charts. DSGS charts for 2- to 20-year-olds showed that contemporary males are taller than previous charts showed. Generally, the DSGS growth charts are similar to the UK charts. CONCLUSIONS The DSGS growth charts can be used as screening tools to assess growth and nutritional status and to provide indications of how growth of an individual child compares with peers of the same age and sex with DS.

Body Composition and BMI Growth Charts in Children With Down Syndrome

“…9 For the DS group, DS-specific BMI z scores by age and sex were calculated using the recently published DS reference data. 4 If age was >20.0 years, then age was adjusted to 20.0 years for these calculations. FMI (fat mass/height 2 ) and lean BMI (LBMI; excluding bone mass/height 2 ) were calculated (kilogram per square meter), and FMI and LBMI z scores were generated for both groups using previously published reference data.…”

“…We used visual inspection to compare the DS BMI growth curves 4 to the 2000 CDC BMI growth curves. 9 Scatterplots displayed the distribution of FMI z scores to CDCderived BMI z scores for the DS and BMDCS samples.…”

“…4 These BMI charts reflect the BMI distribution of contemporary children with DS in the United States, but their utility in identifying excess adiposity and increased risk of obesity-related complications remains unknown.…”

Growth charts for Brazilian children with Down syndrome: Birth to 20 years of age

“…A review showed that stature of children with DS was 0.4–4.0 standard deviations below that of children without DS 6 . This growth restriction has led to the development of specific growth charts for children with DS around the world 6, 7, 8, 9. Specific growth charts are essential for guiding clinicians and families in monitoring the growth of infants, children, and adolescents with DS from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.…”

A Case of Kwashiorkor Presenting with Pericardial Effusion

“…His weight on admission was well below the 5 th percentile on both the traditional CDC Growth Charts for Children with Down syndrome, as well as the newer growth charts based on the Down Syndrome Growing Up Study (DSGS) [4]. His midupper-arm circumference was <11.5 cm; weight-for-height Z score <3.…”