Medical aspects of ageing in a population with intellectual disability: III. Mobility, internal conditions and cancer.
Ageing clients with ID often lose walking ability and develop hidden organ disease—screen early and often.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Ghaziuddin (1997) followed 70 older adults with intellectual disability. The team wrote down every problem that hurt walking or inside-body health.
No treatment was given. The paper is a picture of what ageing looks like in this group.
What they found
Most people over 75 had trouble walking. Many also had heart, lung, or gut illness.
Some sickness was silent; clients did not complain. Staff had to watch for small changes.
How this fits with other research
Lowe et al. (1995) saw the same group live almost as long as the general public, but winter chest infections still killed many. Ghaziuddin (1997) adds that once survivors reach 75, their legs and organs break down fast.
Williams et al. (2019) later showed vitamin D keeps bones stronger, giving us a tool to fight the mobility loss Ghaziuddin (1997) describes.
Thomas et al. (2021) checked death certificates and found half were wrong. This warns us: the illness counts in Ghaziuddin (1997) may also be under-reported, so screen twice.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with ID who are nearing 70, expect walkers, fractures, and quiet heart or lung problems. Build yearly checks for bones, heart, lungs, and vitamin D. Teach staff to report tiny shifts in energy, appetite, or gait. Early action keeps clients moving and out of hospital.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The aim of this study was to assess mobility impairment and morbidity and mortality caused by internal conditions and cancer in an ageing population with mild to severe intellectual disability. Seventy subjects with a mean age of 70 years (range 60-92 years) at initial evaluation, were assessed during a 10-year prospective longitudinal study. As was to be expected, there was a high prevalence of mobility impairment (30% under and 58% over age 75), similar to reports from other ageing populations with intellectual disability, and of related conditions (chronic constipation, pulmonary function loss and urinary incontinence). Overall morbidity and mortality caused by internal disease and cancer might be comparable to that in the general ageing Dutch population, but questions concerning the specific contribution of risk factors will have to be addressed. The lack of or atypical presentation of subjective symptoms was striking. Nevertheless, autopsy outcomes showed that diagnosis in people with intellectual disability can be as accurate as in the general population, if performed actively.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 1997 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.1997.tb00672.x