# Metabolic Health, Lifestyle, and Risk of Co-Occurring Health Conditions in Down Syndrome (MET-DS)

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2024 · $2,800,027

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Beginning early in life, metabolic dysregulation related to the triplication of chromosome 21(e.g. decreased
energy expenditure, increased leptin, hypotonia, increased inflammation, and autonomic dysfunction) as well
as lifestyle (e.g., poor diet, sedentary behavior, reduced and disrupted sleep, and stressors) are thought to
contribute to the 2 times greater prevalence of obesity in people with Down syndrome (DS) as compared to the
general population. In the general population, metabolic health, obesity, and lifestyle have strong associations
with health conditions including obstructive sleep apnea, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiometabolic diseases, and
cognitive impairments. However, the relationship between these factors in people with DS is not well
understood. The Metabolic Health, Lifestyle, and Risk of Co-Occurring Health Conditions in Down Syndrome
(MET-DS) study is a five-year, longitudinal study of factors that alter the risk and severity of co-occurring health
conditions in children, adolescents, and young adults with DS. The study involves a rigorous deep-phenotyping
protocol to better understand the complex interplay between trisomy 21, metabolic dysregulation, obesity,
lifestyle, and the development of co-occurring health conditions. This effort will enroll 200 participants (ages 6-
24 years of age) with DS from four clinical performance sites, and follow them annually across 3 data collection
cycles to address the follow aims: 1) Deeply characterize and establish normative data on metabolic health,
obesity, and lifestyle factors of a large cohort (N = 200) of children, adolescents, and young adults with DS
(aged 6-24 yrs.); 2) Measure the stability and change in profiles of metabolic health, weight status, and lifestyle
factors across 2 years (3 time points; 12 months apart) and during transitional periods of development; 3)
Establish the relation between metabolic health, obesity, and lifestyle factors on co-occurring health conditions
(e.g., obstructive sleep apnea, cardiometabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and early biomarkers of
Alzheimer’s disease) and cognitive development across 2 years (3 time points; 12 months apart); 4)
Collaborate with the other DS-CRS sites and the DS-4C on the development, implementation, and data
harmonization of common core measures across domains (e.g., clinical, cognitive, behavioral, imaging, and
multi-omics) and sites, and lead the DS-CRS sites in collection of metabolic and lifestyle measures.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11000652
- **Project number:** 1U01HD116477-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** BENJAMIN L HANDEN
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $2,800,027
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-17 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11000652

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11000652, Metabolic Health, Lifestyle, and Risk of Co-Occurring Health Conditions in Down Syndrome (MET-DS) (1U01HD116477-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11000652. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*