The Correlation between Oral Health Condition in Down Syndrome Children with Physical Fitness: A Literature Review

Down syndrome children often experience oral health problems. Several studies showed the prevalence of caries 89% and periodontitis 59% in down syndrome children. Oral health can impact general health, leading to muscular problems e.g., muscle fatigue. Muscle fatigue will result in decreased physical fitness. Oral health conditions i.e., periodontitis and caries greatly affect physical fitness. Children with down syndrome are generally vulnerable to periodontitis and caries. These diseases may cause a local systemic inflammation and affect physical fitness. They can change the serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers e.g., TNF-α and interleukins (IL) in muscle injury. Especially, muscle mass, strength, and function may be negatively impacted by the diseases. Both periodontitis and caries also have anatomical proximity to the vascularization; therefore, these oral health problems can negatively affect physical fitness through the metastatic pathway. Poor oral health has been proved to lower physical fitness in down syndrome children.