Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome: A Retrospective Study

Down syndrome is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities accompanied by intellectual disability. However, limited information is available regarding the psychiatric diagnoses and follow-ups of children with Down syndrome, except for intellectual disability. This study aimed to investigate the data on degrees intellectual disability, comorbid psychiatric diagnoses, treatment, and clinical follow-ups of children with Down syndrome. This study was conducted with cases who applied to our hospital between January 2016 and December 2023, were under the age of 18 and diagnosed with Down syndrome. Sociodemographic, comorbid psychiatric and medical diagnosis, and treatment data of a total of 181 cases were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 181 individuals (102 males and 79 females) with Down syndrome were included in the study. When the cases were classified based on their intellectual disability levels, it was found that mild intellectual disability was the most common. 58% of the cases had at least one medical comorbidity, and 22.4% had a psychiatric comorbidity. It was found that the most frequently diagnosed comorbid psychiatric disorder was Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and comorbid psychiatric disorders were not associated with gender or degrees intellectual disability.It was observed that hospital applications of individuals diagnosed with Down syndrome were through health board reports. It was determined that outpatient clinic applications for comorbid psychiatric disorders and treatments, other than intellectual disability, were low. As a result, it is recommended to develop health policies that ensure psychiatric follow-ups of individuals with Down syndrome to ensure their positive gains in later life.