Respiratory symptoms and behavior change in people with Down syndrome during the social lockdown

During the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social lockdown, a reduction in positive respiratory viral testing was noted in the general population, with increased depression and loneliness and decreased life quality. Respiratory symptoms occur more frequently in Down syndrome (DS) with multifactorial causes. The aim of this study was to analyze the reduction in respiratory symptoms in DS during the pandemic to increase our understanding about the proportion of respiratory symptoms attributable to infections in DS. The degree of reduction in respiratory symptoms could also have influenced behavior and well-being in DS. We studied this in the PRIDE cohort. The decrease in respiratory symptom frequency was inversely related to age in DS. We observed mixed changes in behavior and/or well-being in about half the DS participants (the changes were not always negative) and they were not clearly related to respiratory symptom frequency. In conclusion, our results suggest that respiratory symptoms in DS are more often related to viral infections in DS children, but less often in DS adults.