Evaluation of postural control in children and adolescents with down syndrome aged eight to twelve years old

Introduction: Down Syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of the third copy of chromosome 21 (total or partial). The syndrome occurs in approximately one out of every 700 – 1000 newborns per year. Objective:To analyze postural control (PC) of children and adolescents with Down Syndrome (DS) and to compare differences regarding age, sex, nutritional status, and physical activity (PA) levels. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a convenience sample composed of 21 children and adolescents (9 girls) was categorized according to age: G1 (8 to 9 years old; n = 8), G2 (10 years old; n = 7), and G3 (11 to 12 years old; n = 6), Score-Z: eutrophic (n = 9) and overweight (n = 12), and PA level: practitioners (n = 7) and non-practitioners (n = 14). PC was assessed in the force platform (FP), in the standing position, with feet together during 30 seconds. The variables analyzed were the center of pressure area (COP) and the mean velocities of anteroposterior and mediolateral oscillation (VEL-AP and VEL-ML). Shapiro-Wilk test was used to test the normality of data. Kruskal-Wallis, Dunn’s, and Mann Whitney tests were performed to analyze associations with PC. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The median COP, VEL-AP and VEL-ML were 3.55 [2.13 – 6.82] , 2.81 [2.32 – 3.16], and 2.98 [2.42 – 3.43], respectively. There were no differences in PC regarding sex, body mass index and PA level. The adolescents in G3 presented lower values of VEL-AP (G1=2,88 [2,82 – 3,21]; G2= 2,94 [2,35 – 3,39]; G3= 2,27 [2 – 2,3]) and VEL-ML (G1= 3,22 [3,14 – 3,68]; G2= 2,91 [2,52 – 3,63]; G3= 2,34 [2,1 – 2,39]). Conclusion: Sex, nutritional status, and PA level did not affect COP area and AP-VEL and ML-VEL. However, strategies were affected by age, as observed by differences in velocity, but did not affect the COP area.