Age and Mortality Trends in Residents of an Institution for the Menially Handicapped

Longevity and Mortality in Down's Syndrome

“…This replicates the earlier finding of substantially increased mortality in DS after age 40 (Forssman & Akesson, 1965;Deaton, 1973) and clearly distinguishes DS from the remainder of the retarded population in this regard. Richards & Siddiqui (1980) report the average age of DS individuals in this study to be nearly 40 years, providing further evidence for increased longevity. Rates solely derived from institutionalized populations are subject to a number of biases and do not necessarily correspond to the total DS population, particularly those living in the community.…”

“…While mortality rates for DS are not greatly different from those for the entire institution through age 40, mortality rates rise much more rapidly in DS thereafter (see Figure 3). These curves demonstrate a similar exponential increase Death rates for DS, all residents with mental retardation, and the general population from Richards & Siddiqui, 1980). in mortality rates during the final years of life; however., in DS the 'terminal' increase is shifted 10 years earlier than for the entire institutional population and 20 years earlier than for the general population.…”

“…Survival rates for the first decade of life in DS cohorts studied between 1940-1960(0) and 1960-1980 (•). Adapted from the studies referenced in Tables 1 & 2. A recent study by Richards & Siddiqui (1980) controls for this factor by comparing death rates for DS with those for the entire institution and the general population. Mortality rates for both the DS and institutional groups are substantially higher than for the general population.…”

“…Rates solely derived from institutionalized populations are subject to a number of biases and do not necessarily correspond to the total DS population, particularly those living in the community. Estimates of longevity based on age of death in institutionalized populations are dependent on the average age of the institution's residents (Balakrishnan & Wolf, 1976;Richards & Siddiqui, 1980). Recent changes in administrative policies have resulted in fewer admissions of children, increased discharge of young, higher functioning residents and a relatively increased number of elderly residents (Richards, 1975;Nelson & Crocker, 1978;Richards & Siddiqui, 1980).…”

Behaviour disorders and other characteristics of the population of a mental handicap hospital

“…While there are a few total-population studies reported in the literature (Penrose, 1938), the majority of them tend to concentrate on specific data, such as mortality trends, rather than on providing a broad background of information (Forssman and Akesson, 1970;Richards and Siddiqui, 1980).…”