title: [Predisposition of Down syndrome to chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus].
abstract: In order to know in Down's Syndrome (DS) the age of infection by hepatitis B virus (HBV), the incidence of evolution to a chronic carrier status and the optimal age for vaccination against this virus, a study of the prevalence of HBV-markers was carried out in 302 mentally retarded children: Group I, 51 pre-schoolchildren with DS (mean age 2.9 +/- 1.6 years); Group II, 72 schoolchildren with DS (mean age 13.8 +/- 3 years) and Group III, 179 schoolchildren with other types of mental retarded (OMR). Children from group II and III attended the same school as external day-pupils. Fifty eight percent of schoolchildren with SD presented at least one HBV-marker while this percentage was of 25% in schoolchildren with OMR (p > 0.05) or pre-schoolchildren with DS (p > 0.005); DS schoolchildren become also HBV chronic carrier with higher frequency than ORM schoolchildren (40 vs 17) (p > 0.05) and they maintained HBV replication in a higher proportion of cases (36 vs 4) (p > 0.05). In conclusion children with DS acquire easily HBV infection and this occurs when they attend the school independently that the school is a closed or an open institution. They also become more frequently HBV chronic carriers and they maintain HBV replication; so, they must be vaccinated before they begin to attend school and they must be treated with antiviral agents as soon as possible.
authors.affiliation: Servico de Pediatría, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rua Armesto
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ramírez Marín
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Onaindia Ercoreca
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García Aguado
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruiz Moreno
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002353:Carrier State; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission; D006515:Hepatitis B virus; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male
vernacular_title: Predisposición del síndrome de Down a la infección crónica por el virus B de la hepatitis.