Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Arterial Health in Adults With Down Syndrome

Background: Adults with Down syndrome (DS) have more cardiovascular disease risk factors but lower arterial stiffness than adults without DS. We investigated differences in cardiovascular disease risk factors and whether risk factors predict arterial stiffness in adults with and without DS. Methods: Forty adults with DS and 50 without DS participated in this study. We measured body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP), moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with accelerometry, and arterial stiffness with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV). Results: Adults with DS had higher WC, BMI, and MVPA, and lower CF-PWV than those without DS (P ≤ 0.004). No significant differences were found between groups for age (P = 0.187), weight (P = 0.336), BP (P = 0.335), and total risk factors (P = 0.463). Age (P < 0.001, R² change = 0.33), DS (P < 0.001, R² change = 0.17), and WC (P = 0.003, R² change = 0.06) contributed to the prediction model for CF-PWV (R² = 0.56, P < 0.001) for the entire sample of adults with and without DS. Only age predicted CF-PWV in adults with DS (P < 0.001; R² = 0.36), whereas age (P < 0.001, R² change = 0.52) and BMI (P = 0.002, R² change = 0.11) predicted CF-PWV (R² = 0.63, P < 0.001) in adults without DS. Conclusion: Adults with and without DS had similar average numbers of cardiovascular disease risk factors; however, adults with DS had a greater percentage of risk factors for obesity than adults without DS. Age may contribute to arterial stiffness in adults with and without DS. Increased levels of obesity do not appear to be associated with arterial health in adults with DS.