Prevalence of chronic diseases in adolescents with intellectual disability.
Most teens with ID have an extra chronic disease, so always screen for ADHD, autism, migraine, and obesity before you plan treatment.
01Research in Context
What this study did
A Dutch team asked a simple question: how many teens with intellectual disability also have long-term medical or mental health problems?
They gave health-screen forms to parents and teachers of adolescents with ID. The forms listed common chronic diseases like ADHD, migraine, and asthma.
The survey counted how many kids had at least one extra diagnosis beyond ID.
What they found
Nearly two out of every three teens with ID carried at least one chronic disease.
ADHD, autism, migraine, and dyslexia showed up far more often than in typical teens.
The message: expect extra health burdens in this group.
How this fits with other research
Matson et al. (2009) found the same pattern for weight. Over one-third of ambulatory students with ID were obese, again far above national norms.
Matson et al. (2011) tracked younger kids and showed ADHD sticks around longer when ID is present.
Farrant et al. (1998) seems to disagree. Only 15% of adults with severe or profound ID met ADHD criteria. The gap is real but explainable: the adult sample had lower IQ and different ages.
Why it matters
When you write a behavior plan, list every diagnosis, not just ID. Chronic pain, ADHD, or autism can mask or magnify problem behaviors. Share the list with the medical team so meds, diet, and ABA targets line up. A quick health screen at intake saves trial-and-error later.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Valid community-based data on the prevalence of chronic diseases in adolescents (12-18 years) with intellectual disability (ID-adolescents) are scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence rates and the nature of chronic diseases in a population of ID-adolescents and to compare them with the rates among adolescents in the general population. Therefore, we obtained data on 1083 ID-adolescents attending secondary schools, day care centers or living in residential centers fully covering one region of The Netherlands. Parents of the adolescents completed a questionnaire about the occurrence of chronic diseases in their child during the previous 12 months and about background characteristics. The questionnaire was derived from the Dutch National Permanent Survey on Living Conditions questionnaire periodically administered in a representative population sample (n approximately = 10,000). Prevalence rates of chronic diseases in ID-adolescents were compared with those in adolescents in the Dutch general population. Among ID-adolescents, high prevalence rates of a wide range of chronic diseases were found. The five most prevalent were: ADHD (21.1%), PDD-NOS (14.0%), dyslexia (13.9%), migraine or chronic headache (12.7%), and autistic disorder (10.9%). These prevalence rates were all higher (p<0.05) than among adolescents in the general population. Of all ID-adolescents, 62.9% was reported to have at least one chronic disease. The burden of chronic diseases among ID-adolescents is very high, showing a high need for adequate care. These high prevalence rates should alert policymakers and clinicians regarding the widespread of chronic diseases among ID-adolescents.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.01.011