People with Down syndrome at higher risk for severe COVID-19The Journal of Infectious Diseases has published studies demonstrating lower COVID-19 incidence—but a higher risk of severe disease—in people with Down syndrome (DS), and a lower COVID vaccine immune response.In the first matched cohort study, based on data collected from the Kaiser Permanente system in California, 2,541 people with DS and 10,164 without DS were matched by age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
The study was conducted from Mar 1, 2020, to Dec 31, 2020, before COVID-19 vaccines were available and before SARS-CoV-2 variants were widely circulating.People with DS were 32% less likely to contract COVID-19 than non-DS matches (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56 to 0.83,) but they had severe COVID-19 six times more often (aHR, 6.14; 95% CI; 1.87 to 20.16).The authors said caregivers of those with DS likely practiced stricter COVID-19 precautions than others, accounting for the lower overall infection rates, but anatomical changes seen in people with DS—including to the cardiovascular system—may explain why the disease is more severe in that group. Jun 24 J Infect Dis severity studyIn the second study, vaccine antibody levels in Dutch DS patients were compared to matched non-DS peers.
Blood samples were collected at baseline, within 28 days of first vaccination dose, and 28 days after the second vaccine dose for 318 participants, 214 of whom had DS.The authors said the DS population produced fewer antibodies than the non-DS group, and antibody levels were negatively correlated with age in the DS group, with those over 40 showing lower antibody levels than younger adults with DS.