Cause of death in adults with intellectual disability

A study from the University of NSW has revealed that hundreds of Australian adults with an intellectual disability have died from causes that could have been avoided. 

Cause of death and potentially avoidable deaths in Australian adults with intellectual disability using retrospective linked data looked at over 42,000 individuals who registered for disability services from 2005-2011. It was found that 38% of deaths were potentially avoidable.  The authors concluded that adults with ID "have an over-representation of deaths related to diseases of the respiratory and nervous systems, as well as those of congenital and chromosomal origins and an under-representation of deaths due to age-dependent causes such as diseases of the circulatory system and neoplasms." In short, adults with ID experience premature mortality and over-representation of potentially avoidable deaths.

Trollor J, Srasuebkul P, Xu H, et al. BMJ Open 2017;7:e013489. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013489