Abstract
Life expectancy of people with intellectual disability (ID) has increased in recent decades. However, there is little evidence of whether these extra years of life are spent in good health. The aim of this study, conducted in Spain, is to obtain information about the prevalence of chronic health conditions in people with ID over the age of 44 and compare it with that of their peers without disability. Twenty health conditions were analyzed in 1040 people with ID and 12,172 people without ID through a study of their prevalence. The findings show that chronic constipation, urinary incontinence, thyroid disorders and obesity are the most prevalent chronic diseases among individuals with ID. In addition, this population group suffers these health conditions more frequently than older adults without ID. Detection and early intervention in these health conditions will improve adequate access to social health services and subsequent treatment of aging adults with ID.
Highlights
The significant increase in life expectancy is one of the major achievements of our society during the past century
When comparing the prevalence of chronic health conditions between groups, we observe that the intellectual disability (ID) population was more likely to experience urinary incontinence (18.7% vs. 6.4%; χ2 = 205.81; p < 0.001; OR = 3.34) and chronic constipation (16.2% vs. 6.5%; χ2 = 128.69; p < 0.001; OR = 2.77), the strength of the association between the study variables being moderate in both cases
Individuals with ID experienced a higher prevalence than the general population of thyroid disorders (χ2 = 25.84; p < 0.001; OR = 1.69) and obesity (χ2 = 17.32; p < 0.001; OR = 1.37), the effect size of the association was weak in both cases (V = 0.05 y V = 0.04)
Summary
The significant increase in life expectancy is one of the major achievements of our society during the past century. By 2050, one in six people will be over the age of 65 [1] due to a number of factors that are contributing to a decrease in mortality and birth rates [2]. Life expectancy increases by at least two years per decade [3], and the World Health Organization [4] estimates that the average number of years that a person who reaches the age of 60 is expected to live will be of around. Life expectancy in Spain, the country where this study is carried out, is 83.19 years [5]. The number of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities over the age of 60 is expected to grow from around 641,860 in 2000 to 1.2 million in 2030 [9]. Regarding the current situation in Spain, more than 60% of the people with ID will be older than 45 in half a decade’s time [11]
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