title: A cross-sectional study of the phenotypes of obesity and insulin resistance in adults with down syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the confluence of multiple cardiovascular risk factors, subclinical atherosclerotic damage and cardiovascular events remain extremely rare in adults with Down syndrome (DS). We aim to determine the prevalence of obesity and metabolic disorders in an adult cohort with DS and to compare our findings with adults without DS.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study of 51 consecutively selected adults with DS living in the community and 51 healthy controls in an outpatient clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Madrid, Spain. Epidemiological data (age and gender), anthropometric data (body mass index and waist-to-height ratio), coexisting clinical conditions, and laboratory data (fasting glucose, insulin, glycated hemoglobin, creatinine, thyroid hormones, vitamins, and lipid profile) were measured and compared between the groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adults with DS were significantly younger and more often men with a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than controls. Their waist-to-height ratio was higher, and they more frequently had abdominal obesity. The results of an analysis adjusted for age and gender revealed no differences in fasting insulin levels, homeostatic model assessment indexes, or lipid profile between adults with DS and controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adults with DS presented a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. However, we found no differences in lipid profile, prevalence of insulin resistance, or metabolic syndrome between adults with DS and controls.
authors.affiliation: Adult Down Syndrome Outpatient Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, Fundación de Investigación Biomédica, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Real de Asua
authors.affiliation: Adult Down Syndrome Outpatient Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, Fundación de Investigación Biomédica, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parra
authors.affiliation: Adult Down Syndrome Outpatient Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, Fundación de Investigación Biomédica, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Adult Down Syndrome Outpatient Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, Fundación de Investigación Biomédica, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moldenhauer
authors.affiliation: Adult Down Syndrome Outpatient Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, Fundación de Investigación Biomédica, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suarez
keywords: Down syndrome; Hypothyroidism; Insulin resistance; Metabolic syndrome; Obesity, abdominal