Oral Function and Eating Habit Problems in People with Down Syndrome

Sonia Cañizares-Prado, Jorge Molina-López, María Trinidad Moya and Elena Planells
Additional contact information
Sonia Cañizares-Prado: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “José Mataix”, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Jorge Molina-López: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “José Mataix”, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
María Trinidad Moya: Granadown, Down Syndrome Association of Granada, 18014 Granada, Spain
Elena Planells: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology “José Mataix”, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: Background: Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder in which there is an increased risk of developing clinical comorbidities that require regular attention: health problems, alterations in maxillomandibular development, chewing and swallowing problems, as well as dietary habits that may influence diet and nutritional status. This study will analyze the frequency of occurrence of these factors with increasing age in this population. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 18 participants aged 30–45 years. The condition of orofacial structures, chewing and swallowing function and oral and eating habits were assessed to observe the frequency of occurrence of these problems with increasing age. Results: A high frequency of digestive problems was observed. There was also a presence of problems in the introduction of new tastes and consistencies. In addition, unilateral chewing was reported in 100% of the participants, severe anatomical dysfunction of the mandible/maxilla and high hypotonicity reflected in tongue movements. Conclusions: it is necessary to educate, through specific intervention protocols, the younger generations with DS, as well as their environment, as harmful habits are developed in childhood and consolidated throughout life.

Keywords: down syndrome; intellectual disability; feeding problems; swallowing disorders; mastication; oral habits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2616/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2616/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2616-:d:757679

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().