Table 2. Comparison of the balance and gait function (N=36).
| Down syndrome children (n=16) | Typically developing children (n=20) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance function | |||
| OLST (s) | Total | 0.6 (1.1) | 45.5 (17.1)‡ |
| Before school-age | 0.2 (0.5) | 38.1 (20.8)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 1.3 (1.4) | 51.6 (10.8)‡ | |
| RT(EO) (s) | Total | 0.6 (2.0) | 58.7 (6.0)‡ |
| Before school-age | 0.1 (0.3) | 57.0 (9.0)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 1.1 (3.0) | 60.0 (0.0)‡ | |
| RT(EC) (s) | Total | 0.6 (2.3) | 53.0 (13.5)‡ |
| Before school-age | 0.0 (0.0) | 44.6 (17.0)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 1.3 (3.4) | 59.8 (0.60)*, ‡ | |
| SRT(EO) (s) | Total | 0.5 (2.0) | 50.4 (14.2)‡ |
| Before school-age | 0.0 (0.0) | 44.4 (16.1)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 1.1 (3.0) | 55.2 (10.8)‡ | |
| SRT(EC) (s) | Total | 0.0 (0.0) | 40.4 (21.8)‡ |
| Before school-age | 0.0 (0.0) | 26.4 (19.4)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 0.0 (0.0) | 51.7 (16.7)**, ‡ | |
| FRT (cm) | Total | 12.0 (3. 5) | 25.2 (6.4)‡ |
| Before school-age | 10.9 (2.5) | 20.9 (5.6)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 13.3 (4.2) | 28.8 (4.8)**, ‡ | |
| Gait function | |||
| Velocity (cm/s) | Total | 85.8 (16.0) | 103.23 (25.89)† |
| Before school-age | 90.1 (11.9) | 91.43 (19.06) | |
| School-aged children | 80.3 (19.8) | 112.89 (27.48)† | |
| Cadence (steps/mim) | Total | 154.8 (30.1) | 131.6 (18.2)‡ |
| Before school-age | 171.2 (28.3) | 137.7 (16.7)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 133.7 (16.7)** | 126.5 (18.5) | |
| Step length (cm) | Total | 33.6 (6.7) | 47.5 (10.9)‡ |
| Before school-age | 31.8 (3.7) | 40.1 (7.1)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 35.9 (9.1) | 53.6 (9.8)**, ‡ | |
| Stride length (cm) | Total | 67.4 (12.1) | 95.1 (22.4)‡ |
| Before school-age | 63.8 (5.9) | 80.5 (14.4)‡ | |
| School-aged children | 72.1 (16.7) | 107.1 (21.0)**, ‡ | |
| Step width (cm) | Total | 10.9 (2.7) | 8.8 (2.1)‡ |
| Before school-age | 11.2 (2.7) | 8.4 (1.7)† | |
| School-aged children | 10.6 (2.5) | 9.1 (2.4) | |
Values are means (SD). Total: children aged 4 to 12; Before school-age: 4–7 years old; School-aged children: 8–12 years old; OLST: one leg standing test; RT: Romberg test; SRT: Sharpened Romberg test; FRT: functional reaching test; EO: Eyes Open; EC: Eyes Closed; *p<0.05 compared with the Before school-age and School-aged children; **p<0.01 compared with the Before school-age and School-aged children; † p<0.05 from mean between the two groups; ‡ p<0.01 from mean between the two groups