People with intellectual disability and their health problems: a review of comparative studies.
People with ID carry clearly higher odds of epilepsy, skin trouble, sensory loss, and fractures—screen for these first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The authors gathered every paper that compared physical health in people with intellectual disability to the general public.
They looked for studies on epilepsy, skin trouble, hearing or vision loss, and broken bones.
Only comparative papers were kept; single-group reports were tossed.
What they found
Across the papers, people with ID had higher rates of epilepsy, skin disorders, sensory loss, and fractures.
The evidence was thin; few studies existed for each topic.
Still, the pattern was clear enough to flag these four areas for extra attention.
How this fits with other research
Matson et al. (1999) and McConkey et al. (2010) echo the epilepsy and fracture link.
They show seizures and past fractures predict more falls and lower social skills.
Arshad et al. (2011) seems to disagree: adults with ID plus epilepsy had fewer psychiatric diagnoses than those without seizures.
The twist is referral bias; the clinic sample was healthier, so the broader rule—epilepsy adds health burden—still holds.
Tassé et al. (2013) adds a nuance: after age 50, heart attack and stroke rates match the general population, so standard cardiac screens are enough.
Why it matters
You now have a short checklist: ask about seizures, look at skin, test vision and hearing, and note fracture history.
These quick items catch problems early and justify referrals to nursing or medical teams.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The transition of people with intellectual disability (ID) from care institutions to the community - according to Western policy - results in a shift of responsibility towards primary health care services. In order to provide optimal care to people with ID living in the community, general practitioners need to be aware of the specific health problems of this patient category. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of recent studies on the specific health problems of people with ID, in particular on health problems of people with ID in the community, compared to those of the general population. METHOD: To reliably compare health problems of individuals with and without ID, this review is limited to comparative research using a control group of individuals without ID. The focus of the review concentrates on international literature, published between 1995 and 2002. RESULTS: Most comparative research among people with ID presents higher prevalence rates for epilepsy, diseases of the skin, sensory loss and (increased risk of) fractures. These health problems are specific for people with ID, both in general and living in the community in particular. CONCLUSIONS: there are only few studies focusing on health problems in people with ID in which a control group of individuals without ID is included. Most comparative studies on health problems in people with ID are based on comparison with reported prevalence rates of general health surveys.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2004 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2004.00483.x