Methods: Cross-sectional study in which 100 patients with DS confirmed by karyotype were investigated between 1 and 16 years of age (median age 6 years), 58% male and 42% female. After patients' guardians sign the consent form, they were included when treated in routine consultations in specialized clinic in DS, during the period July 2012 to March 2013. Clinical and demographic data (gender, age, ethnicity, congenital heart defects, hypotonia, breastfeeding, immunizations, hospitalizations, recurrent infections, allergies) were collected from their medical records and through interviews with guardians. As control group were included 100 children and teenagers without DS, randomly selected from a database of a particular pediatric clinic, matched in gender and age with the study group. Clinical and demographic data of controls (gender, age, ethnicity, breastfeeding, allergies) were collected from their medical records only. Data were gathered on frequency and contingency tables and performed the statistical analysis. Descriptive measures were calculated and applied the Fisher test. The significance adopted was 5%.
Results: Among patients with DS, 67% had allergies, and allergic rhinitis, the most common finding, was present in 47% of them. Asthma was present in 6% and atopic dermatitis in 12% of patients with DS. There was a significant difference compared with the findings in the control group, where 28% had allergy (p <0.001); 26% allergic rhinitis (p = 0.002), 18% asthma (p = 0.009) and 3% of controls had atopic dermatitis (p = 0.01). No significant difference between the presence of allergy in relation to gender or other clinical data investigated was observed.
Conclusions: Children and teenagers with DS have more allergic diseases, and allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis have higher prevalence in these patients than in the control group. However, asthma was observed less frequently in the group with DS than in controls.