Prevalence and general health status of people with intellectual disabilities in Scotland: a total population study

Hughes-Mccormack, L. A., Rydzewska, E. , Henderson, A. , MacIntyre, C., Rintoul, J. and Cooper, S.-A. (2018) Prevalence and general health status of people with intellectual disabilities in Scotland: a total population study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 72(1), pp. 78-85. (doi: 10.1136/jech-2017-209748) (PMID:29070675)

Abstract

Background: Prevalence of intellectual disabilities varies considerably between studies. People with intellectual disabilities experience health inequalities, but most studies comprise small or incomplete populations. We investigated in a whole country population the (1) prevalence of intellectual disabilities and (2) general health status compared with the general population. Method: Data were from Scotland’s Census, 2011. We calculated the prevalence of intellectual disabilities, reported general health status of people with and without intellectual disabilities and the extent of health-related limitations to daily activities. We conducted logistic regressions to determine the ORs of intellectual disabilities predicting poor health and associations with age and gender. Results: Of Scotland’s 5 295 403 population, 26 349 (0.5%) had intellectual disabilities; 15 149 (57.5%) were males and 11 200 (42.5%) were females; 5234 (0.6%) were children/youth (0–15) and 21 115 (0.5%) were adults (16–75+ years). Identification of intellectual disabilities rises until age 5 years, with a further small rise by age 9 years. Children and adults with intellectual disabilities reported more poor health (47.9% and 40.3%) than the general population (2.1% and 13.8%) and were more limited in activities by their health. Intellectual disabilities had an OR of 43.2 (95% CI 40.8 to 45.7) in predicting poor health; the influence of increasing age on poor health was markedly interacted by presence of intellectual disabilities, likely to be due to a ‘healthy survivor’ effect within the intellectual disabilities population. Conclusion: People with intellectual disabilities have poorer general health than other people, especially children and young people. Accurate information on population prevalence and health status is essential to plan appropriate resources.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: Funding: Scottish Government via the Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory.
• Keywords: Intellectual disabilities, prevalence, health inequalities, health status, physical health.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Rydzewska, Dr Ewelina and Hughes, Mrs Laura and Henderson, Mrs Angela and Cooper, Professor Sally-Ann
• Authors: Hughes-Mccormack, L. A., Rydzewska, E., Henderson, A., MacIntyre, C., Rintoul, J., and Cooper, S.-A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Journal Name: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 0143-005X
• ISSN (Online): 1470-2738
• Published Online: 25 October 2017
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 72:78-85
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy