Hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipemia among adolescents with intellectual disabilities.
Taiwanese teens with ID already show warning signs of metabolic syndrome—screen early and pair with diet or exercise plans.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Doctors in Taiwan looked at health charts of teens with intellectual disability. They wanted to see how many had high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high fats in the blood.
The teens all went to special schools. The team compared the numbers to what doctors expect in typical kids.
What they found
About 1 in 9 students had high blood pressure. About 1 in 11 had high triglycerides, a type of blood fat.
These rates are higher than what is usually seen in typical teens.
How this fits with other research
Pan et al. (2016) studied the same group six years later and found 35% were overweight or obese. The two papers together show that weight and blood-fat problems often travel together in Taiwanese students with ID.
Grindle et al. (2012) looked at Dutch adults with ID and saw similar blood-pressure problems, but many had never been told before. Early teen checks, like in Pei-Ying’s study, could catch these issues sooner.
Lin et al. (2010) used the same chart-review method on the same 2010 student pool and found 11.6% had anemia. The studies side-by-side reveal that hidden health problems pile up in this group.
Why it matters
If you serve teens with ID, ask the school nurse or parent for recent blood-pressure and lipid numbers. When either is high, flag the case for the pediatrician and build movement or nutrition goals into the student’s plan. Early action can prevent bigger problems in adulthood.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present paper aims to assess the hypertension, hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia prevalence of adolescents with intellectual disabilities, and to recognize the health disparities between the study participants and the general population. This study conducted a cross-sectional medical chart analysis of 856 students who participated in school enrolment health examinations in three special schools in Taiwan from 2005 to 2007. We found there were 11.7% cases had hypertension. The biochemical analyses results showed that the elevated or abnormal rates of each exam were the following: triglyceride (9.1%), total cholesterol (1.1%), and fasting plasma glucose (0.3%). The study found the prevalence of hypertension and elevated triglyceride were significantly higher than the general population at the same age, and the body mass index had significantly correlated to hypertension and elevated triglyceride tests. Based on the study findings, many potential risks for metabolic syndrome in adolescents with intellectual disabilities were higher than the general population. The present study suggests that it is necessary to monitor and set up a follow-up health policy for students with intellectual disabilities in healthcare system.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.12.002