Gender differences in the prevalence of congenital heart disease in Down’s syndrome: a brief meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Down's syndrome (DS) affects one per 700 live births and congenital heart disease (CHD) occurs in 40-60% of these patients. Contributing factors to the association between DS and CHD are being unraveled. Gender could be one of them. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of CHD prevalence in DS, separated by gender. Three search engines were used and 578 articles were reviewed. Twelve articles were included. RESULTS: Quantitative analysis showed a higher prevalence of CHD, particularly atrioventricular septal defects (AVSD), in female patients. No differences were found in others forms of CHD. CONCLUSION: CHD, particularly AVSD, are more common in the female gender of Down's syndrome patients.