EATING HABITS OF YOUNG-CHILDREN WITH DOWN-SYNDROME IN THE NETHERLANDS- ADEQUATE NUTRIENT INTAKES BUT DELAYED INTRODUCTION OF SOLID FOOD

Objectives To investigate nutritional status, pattern of being breast- fed, age at introduction of solid food, and adequacy of energy and nut rient intakes in children with Down syndrome in The Netherlands. Desig n Nutritional status was assessed by height and weight measurements. T he dietary history method was used to collect information on the diet. Data obtained from children with Down syndrome were compared with dat a from control subjects and from the general population of Dutch child ren. Adequacy of energy and nutrient intakes was assessed by compariso n to US recommendations. Subjects Forty-four Dutch children with Down syndrome (newborns to 4-year-olds)and 37 healthy control subjects with out this syndrome. Statistical analyses The prevalence of breast-feedi ng of children with and without Down syndrome was compared using the C hi(2) test. To compare ages at which solid food was introduced, the lo g-rank test and Kaplan-Meier curves were used. Anthropometric data and mean dietary intake were compared between the groups using S-way anal ysis of variance. Comparison to recommended levels of dietary intake w as performed using 95% confidence intervals. Results Heights and weigh ts of the children with Down syndrome were in the normal range. Down s yndrome does not affect the prevalence of breast-feeding of children o r the adequacy of their energy and nutrient intakes, but it does signi ficantly delay the age at which solid food is introduced, which can be deleterious to oral-motor development. Application If late introducti on of solid food is observed in children with Down syndrome, pre-speec h therapy should be considered.