Comparison of Some Anthropometric Parameters and Blood Pressure between Adolescents with Down Syndrome and Healthy Ones.

Background: Most of the people with Down syndrome have short stature compared to general population. There is also a high prevalence of overweight and obesity, mainly in the adolescence and in the adult life. The aim of this study was to compare some anthropometric parameters, heart rate and blood pressure of children with Down syndrome and those with normal development. Down syndrome is among the most commonly classified categories of mental sub normality, with the incidence at birth being around 1: 700 and 1: 750 in live births in most countries worldwide, with the risk of increasing with mother's age. Methods: The sample consisted of 82 children, 32 with Down syndrome and 50 healthy children, male, aged 14-15 yr from the population of Kosovo in 2022. There were no health problems present in the healthy children. Results: About 53% of children with Down syndrome have normal body mass, 15.62% are overweight, and 21.8 are obese. In terms of blood pressure, Down syndrome children have higher systolic pressure (121.94mm/hg), sd ±21.69 than healthy children (111.18mm/hg, sd ±10.88). Conclusion: Children with Down syndrome had significantly higher body mass index, heart rate, and systolic pressure at rest compared to healthy children. However, after short physical activity, healthy children exhibited greater diastolic pressure than children with Down syndrome.

Impact of Using Population-Specific Cut-Points, Self-Reported Health, and Socio-Economic Parameters to Predict Sarcopenia: A Cross-Sectional Study in Community-Dwelling Kosovans Aged 60 Years and Older.

The age-related decline of muscle strength, mass, and physical performance (sarcopenia) has been raising concerns among the scientific and healthcare communities. This decline may differ between populations, age groups, and sexes. Therefore, we aimed to explore sarcopenia together with the impact of health and socio-economic parameters in mature Kosovans. A cross-sectional study was conducted on community-dwelling adults aged ≥ 60 years (n = 240, 47.1% female) from the Prishtina region. Sarcopenia was identified using the following criteria: (i) the European Working Group in Sarcopenia for Older People (EWGSOP1), (ii) the revised EWGSOP2 algorithms, and (iii) sex-specific cut-points derived from the Kosovan population. In males, pre-sarcopenia/probable sarcopenia was detected from the EWGSOP1, EWGSOP2 and Kosovan-specific criteria at values of 3.1%, 5.5%, and 28.3%; sarcopenia was detected at 1.6%, 5.5%, and 0.0%, and severe sarcopenia was detected at 4.7%, 2.4%, and 4.7%, respectively. Pre-sarcopenia was lower in females (0.9%, 5.3%, 16.8%), with no cases of sarcopenia or severe sarcopenia detected by either algorithm. Sarcopenic males were older, had a lower weight, BMI, skeletal muscle mass, performance score, nutritional status (p < 0.001), educational level (p = 0.035), and higher malnourishment risk (p = 0.005). It is notable that high overweight and obesity levels were also detected (93.8% of females, 77.1% of males). This study highlights the importance of using population-specific cut-points when diagnosing sarcopenia, as otherwise its occurrence may be underestimated, especially in obese persons. Age, body composition, physical performance, health, and socio-economic conditions can influence the occurrence of sarcopenia.

Test-retest reliability data of functional performance, strength, peak torque and body composition assessments in two different age groups of Kosovan adults.

This article reports test-retest reliability data of laboratory- and field-based performance tests as well as body composition analyses of younger and older Kosovan adults. In total, 57 healthy young (18-35 years) and 61 older (>60 years) participants took part in two identical test sessions, with a median [25th - 75th percentile] of 14 [13-21] days in between. Functional performance tests included 30-s chair stand test (CST), 30-s arm curl test (ACT), six-minutes walking test (6MWT), sit and reach test, timed up and go test (TUG), as well as the assessment of gait speed (GS) at normal and fast pace. Isometric handgrip strength (HGS) was used to estimate strength of the dominant hand. Isokinetic peak torque (PT) and average power (AvgP) for knee extension and flexion were determined at velocities of 60°/s and 120°/s. Body composition assessments included body fat percentage, skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and index (SMI) as well as appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) and index. Secondary endpoints included self-perceived health status and potential co-morbidities. All performance test outcomes as well as body fat percentage, SMM, ASMM, and self-perceived health were significantly better in young as compared to older participants (p < 0.001). Improvements from test to retest were observed for CST (p < 0.001), PTflexion (60°/s: p = 0.001, 120°/s: p = 0.041), AvgPflexion (60°/s: p < 0.001, 120°/s: p < 0.001), AvgPextension (120°/s: p = 0.050), but also for SMM (p = 0.021) and SMI (p = 0.021). Only for CST and HGS a time x age group interaction was detected (p < 0.05). Acceptable reliability (ICC > 0.7) was observed for all parameters in both age groups, except for some of the measures from the isokinetic dynamometry, where ICCs were generally lower in older participants, but fell below 0.7 for AvgPflexion at 60°/s (ICC = 0.6) and at 120°/s (ICC = 0.67) as well as for PTflexion at 120°/s (ICC = 0.69). These data's importance lay upon their potential use in epidemiological studies observing muscle strength, peak torque, power, physical performance and body composition over various age groups, either in the same or similar populations, or for comparison to other populations.

SIDE TO SIDE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DOMINANT AND NON-DOMINANT ARM'S BONE DENSITY AND ISOMETRIC HANDGRIP STRENGTH IN MALES AND FEMALES AGED 40-65 YEARS OLD.

OBJECTIVE: This observational, cross-sectional study, investigates and compares the differences of BMD, T-score, Z-score and isometric strength between dominant (D) versus non-dominant (ND) arms of 162 subjects aged 40-65 in a developing, low income country (Kosova). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Bone Mineral Density (BMD), T-score and Z-score at distal forearm regions of both arms (measured by DXA scan), together with the Handgrip Isometric Strength (HIS) (by handgrip) were evaluated in a total subjects (53 Males and 109 Females). Additionally, General Healthcare Status Questionnaire together with self-administrated International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were filled. RESULTS: Significant differences (p<0.05) between arms were found in BMD, T-score, and Z-score in total subjects and in females, whereas not significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in Males BMD comparing to significantly higher results (p<0.05) in T-score and Z-score. Significant differences (p<0.05) were also found in total subjects and in females handgrip, but not (p>0.05) in males. When comparing the total subject's BMD, T-score, Z-score and Handgrip based on the PA levels (1 to 3 according to IPAQ scoring) no significant differences (p>0.05) were found between PA1, as well as PA3 whereas significantly differences (p<0.05) were found in D arms of PA2 level. CONCLUSION: The study analyses side-to-side differences in bone density and muscular force between D and ND arms amongst a population which is frequently exposed to diagnostic screenings for age related osteomuscular conditions (aged 40-60), and demonstrates that these differences should be in consideration amongst clinicians, but not in the way it is done right now.