Down syndrome may up COVID-19-related death risk significantly: Know the reasons

A new study has found that Down syndrome is associated with a 10-fold increased risk for COVID-19-related death. Read on to know more.

People with Down syndrome are more likely to some of these health conditions, like congenital heart disease, sleep apnea and hypertension to name a few. @Shutterstock

The COVID-19 virus has so far claimed 1,128,325 lives across the world and there are now 41,104,946 confirmed cases globally. In India too, the virus has had a major impact. There are now 77,61,312 confirmed cases in the country and as many as 1,17,306 people have lost their lives to the disease till date. Since the beginning of the pandemic, scientists have said that the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are more at risk of severe complications. Heart disease, diabetes and hypertension are some of the conditions that ups the risk of dying of this disease considerably.

Now, researchers have found that Down syndrome is associated with a 10-fold increased risk for COVID-19-related death. This is new information because this condition is not included in the official list of underlying health conditions that increases the risk of severe complications. Down syndrome (sometimes called Down's syndrome) is a condition in which a child is born with an extra copy of their 21st chromosome - hence its other name, trisomy 21. This causes physical and mental developmental delays and disabilities.

Down syndrome may lead to immune dysfunction

Although Down syndrome was not specifically mentioned on official lists of conditions that put people at increased risk, the condition is associated with immune dysfunction, congenital heart disease, and pulmonary pathology. Therefore, it may be an unconfirmed risk factor for severe COVID-19, the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, reported.

4-fold increased risk for COVID-19-related hospitalisation

For the findings, researchers from the University of Oxford, the University of Nottingham and the University College London studied a cohort of 8.26 million adults through a 'QResearch' database to evaluate if the down syndrome is a risk factor for death from COVID-19. The authors found an estimated a 4-fold increased risk for COVID-19-related hospitalisation and a 10-fold increased risk for COVID-19-related death in persons with Down syndrome. Researchers say that they are unaware of the effects of Down syndrome on COVID-19 outcomes being reported elsewhere yet during this pandemic. They stressed this novel evidence should be used by public health organisations, policymakers, and health care workers to strategically protect vulnerable individuals.

Heart disease, low immunity, sleep disorder in Down syndrome increases risk

According to the CDC and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), people with certain medical conditions are "high risk" as they are more likely to develop severe complications if they get COVID-19. People with Down syndrome are more likely to some of these health conditions, like congenital heart disease, sleep apnea and hypertension to name a few. Such people are also more prone to respiratory infections like the common cold and flu. Though there is not enough data about COVID-19 and people with Down syndrome, experts say that adults with Down syndrome younger than 65 years of age may become severely ill if they catch the COVID-19 infection and their chances of dying from the disease also goes up significantly.

(With inputs from IANS)