Bayen E, et al. - The researchers aimed to determine the prevalence of dementia and aging-related comorbidities in older adult individuals with Down syndrome (DS) via conducting a cross-sectional study of a Medicare sample of 878 older individuals with Down syndrome (age range, 45-89 years). Observations revealed dementia in nearly half of older individuals with Down syndrome after age 65 years. High rates of age-related conditions were evident among individuals with Down syndrome, especially among those with Down syndrome dementia. This suggests the necessity for early systematic screening of treatable multimorbidity during Down syndrome adulthood and repeated tracking of cognitive decline to improve elderly and dementia care in DS.

Methods

• Data from 2015 California Medicare claims were analyzed in this cross-sectional analysis.
• One-year of cross-sectional Medicare claims data that included 100% of Californian Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in both Medicare Part A and B in 2015 were examined.
• Researchers identified 878 individuals with diagnosis of DS among 3,001,977 Californian Medicare beneficiaries 45 years or older.
• Data analysis was performed between April 2017 and February 2018.
• Across different age categories, the frequency of DS dementia was assessed.
• Among individuals with DS with and without dementia and by age and sex groups, comparison of the number and frequency of 27 comorbidities was performed.

Results

• Dementia diagnoses were made in 353 DS individuals (40%) (mean, 58.7 years; 173 women [49%]) and 525 individuals were without dementia diagnoses (mean, 55.9 years; 250 women [48%]).
• Among those 65 years or older, the frequency of DS dementia rose to 49%.
• With age, increase in the mean number of comorbidities per individual was noted in general.
• Individuals with dementia displayed more numerous comorbid conditions compared with those with DS without dementia (mean, 3.4 vs 2.5, respectively), especially among those younger than 65 years.
• In particular, individuals with DS dementia displayed 4 treatable conditions, hypothyroidism, epilepsy, anemia, and weight loss, much more frequently.