The prevalence of intellectual disability in Limburg, the Netherlands.

van Schrojenstein Lantman-de Valk et al. (2006) counted how many people in Limburg, the Netherlands, have intellectual disability (ID).

They used local records and checked who was getting ID services and who was not.

About 1 in every 150 people in Limburg has ID. That is 0.64–0.70 % of the whole population.

More than half of the adults who live on their own never use ID services.

Moss et al. (2009) looked at the same Dutch adults and found 1 in 6 had high blood pressure. This builds on the 2006 count by adding a common health risk.

Tyrer et al. (2009) widened the age lens to 50-90 years and showed most older adults with ID have poor diet and 70 % carry too much belly fat. The 2006 paper gives the base numbers; the 2009 paper flags what to watch for as clients age.

Morad et al. (2007) ran a similar head-count in Israeli residential centers and found 1 in 12 adults with ID had constipation. Both studies use the same cross-sectional design, but in different countries and for different health issues.

If you work in the Netherlands, expect only a handful of clients with ID in each town. Most adults you meet will not be connected to services, so you may be their first link to support. Screen for common problems like hypertension and poor diet early, and use simple language to explain why follow-up helps.