Neurodevelopmental profile of Down syndrome in Chinese children

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To give an overall appraisal of the clinical features of Down syndrome (DS) in Chinese children with emphasis on the neurodevelopmental outcome, and to compare the related complications with that of other races. METHODOLOGY: The records of 124 Chinese children with DS assessed at the Child Assessment Centre of the University Department of Paediatrics in the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital from 1985 to 1993 were reviewed. RESULTS: Thirty-one per cent of patients had microcephaly. Eighty-five percent (33/39) when assessed in the first year of life had a developmental quotient (DQ) above 50 but only 29% (2/7) had DQ above 50 when assessed after the age of 5. Only two patients (1.6%) had epilepsy: infantile spasms (1) and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (1). Hearing impairment was found in 45% of children with mild conductive hearing impairment being the most common. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese children with DS, when compared with other races, were similarly intellectually disabled, but were less likely to develop epilepsy.