Risk for osteopenia and osteoporosis in institution-dwelling individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
Weak bones hide in more than half of institutionalized adults with ID—screen early and guard against fractures.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lin et al. (2015) checked the bones of adults living in large disability centers in Taipei. They used a quick scan called DXA to look for weak bones.
All residents had intellectual or developmental disabilities. The team wanted to know how many already had osteopenia or osteoporosis.
What they found
Over half of the residents had weak bones. Men aged 40 plus and anyone with low body weight were hit hardest.
The study warns that silent bone loss is common in these settings.
How this fits with other research
Hsieh et al. (2025) later looked at the same Taipei centers and found eye diseases are also widespread. Together the papers show hidden health problems pile up in institutions.
Bhaumik et al. (2008) mapped BMI in adults with ID years earlier. Their data set the stage for Lan-Ping’s finding that low weight predicts poor bone health.
Ferguson et al. (2020) found diabetes strikes 7 % of adults with ID, especially those in residential care. Bone loss and diabetes now look like twin risks of institutional living.
Why it matters
If you serve adults in group homes or state centers, add bone health to your annual checklist. Ask the doctor for a DXA scan at age 40 for men and track weight every visit. Simple strength walks and calcium-rich snacks can help, but first you need to know who is at risk.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of and contributing factors to osteopenia and osteoporosis among people with intellectual disabilities (ID) or/and developmental disabilities (DD) residing in a disability institution in Taiwan. The present study was conducted at one disability institution in Taiwan and recruited 184 institutionalized residents with ID and/or DD (115 men and 69 women aged 18-72 years) for analysis. For all residents with ID and/or DD, information was obtained about their age, gender, level of ID, BMI, and bone mineral density (BMD). BMD is a measurement of calcium levels in bones that can estimate the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures. Bone tests were divided into three outcome categories based on their calcaneal BMD T-scores: Normal BMD, a T-score≧-1; Osteopenia, -2.5≦T-score<-1; and Osteoporosis, a T-score<-2.5. The results revealed that 46.2% of cases were normal and that 27.7% and 26.1% of cases had osteopenia and osteoporosis, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analyses found that male gender (OR=2.482, 95% CI=1.04-5.93, p<0.05), age≧40 years (OR=3.051, 95% CI=1.07-8.69, p<0.05) and being overweight/obese (OR=0.395, 95% CI=0.17-0.93, p<0.05) were more likely to be associated with osteoporosis. Another model indicated that males (OR=2.169, 95% CI=1.12-4.19, p<0.05) and those aged≧40 years (OR=3.026, 95% CI=1.32-7, p<0.01) tended to have an increased risk for osteopenia and osteoporosis. To improve the bone quality of individuals with ID or/and DD and to decrease the occurrence of osteopenia and osteoporosis, this study highlights that we should pay much attention to the potential risk factors for bone quality in these vulnerable populations.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.09.022