美国儿童患有唐氏综合症的新生长图表

儿童研究人员已经开发出第一套美国儿童唐氏综合征的生长图表，因为1988。这些新的图表为儿科医生评估这种情况的儿童和青少年成长的里程碑的重要工具。有了这些新的图表，儿科医生将能够比较每一个病人的生长模式与相同年龄和性别的人患有唐氏综合症的同龄人。

“成长是一个孩子的健康和福祉的一个很好的指标，所以它的儿科检查中必不可少的一部分，说：”研究的领导者，美国的博士，Babette Zemel，在费城儿童医院营养和生长实验室主任（CHOP）。患有唐氏综合症的儿童与其他儿童有不同的成长，因此有生长发育的图表反映了他们独特的生长模式。

这项研究于10月26日在线发表于儿科。

The study project, the Down Syndrome Growing Up Study (DSGS), was funded by a four-year, $1。2 million grant to CHOP from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)。

生长模式和唐氏综合症

Down syndrome, a multisystem genetic disorder resulting from an extra copy of chromosome 21, occurs in about one in 700 U。S。 births。 Doctors and parents have long known that children with Down syndrome tend to grow more slowly and are shorter than most other children。

Thanks to medical advances and improved access to care, overall health and well-being has improved for these patients; for example, life expectancy has increased from 35 years in 1985 to 53 years in 2007。 This study investigated whether growth patterns have also improved。

新增长图表的数据源

The researchers followed 637 participants, up to age 20, recruited from the Trisomy 21 Program at CHOP and from community locations and pediatric practices, mostly in the greater Philadelphia area, between Jan。 2010 and July 2013。 All the participants were in their usual state of health at the times of measurement and, on average, had three study visits at which measurements were taken。

Children under age 3 showed marked improvements in weight gain compared to the 1988 U。S。 growth charts for children with Down syndrome。 Improvements in height, reflecting taller stature, occurred mainly in males aged 2 to 20, relative to the earlier charts。 In general, the DSGS charts were consistent with charts from U。K。 children with Down syndrome, published in 2002。

The DSGS team also created the first-ever body mass index (BMI) charts for children with Down syndrome。 The researchers noted that the charts do not represent an ideal distribution of BMI, but only describe BMI distribution among their study participants。 They added that further investigations should determine how to use the BMI charts to screen patients for excess body fat and associated health symptoms。

“These charts more accurately reflect the growth of contemporary children with Down syndrome living in the U。S。,” said Zemel。 She added, “It is clear that growth has improved for infants and toddlers with Down syndrome over the past few decades, and that males are taller。 The new BMI charts will be helpful for evaluating excess weight gain, which is mainly a concern as children advance through the teenage years。 Ongoing research at CHOP, led by Dr。 Andrea Kelly, and at Children’s National Health System, led by Dr。 Sheela Magge, will help determine if there are health consequences of excess weight in teens with Down syndrome。

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