Health services, health promotion, and health literacy: Report from the State of the Science in Aging with Developmental Disabilities Conference

Once frail, always frail? Frailty transitions in home care users with intellectual and developmental disabilities

“…9 Longitudinal observational studies have described change in frailty in terms of specific outcomes, such as incidence 10 or worsening frailty. The past several decades have seen increases in the size and life expectancy of this population, 14 resulting in a growth in the proportion of older adults with IDD Accepted for publication 9 October 2017. 12,13 More recently, researchers have examined frailty in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD; e.g.…”

A Review of Health Surveillance in Older Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…Decreasing childhood mortality, technological advances, and increasing life expectancy have led to growth in the population of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (Janicki, Dalton, Henderson, & Davidson, 1999;Marks, Sisirak, & Hsieh, 2008). Overall, intellectual and developmental disabilities are estimated to affect between 1.5% and 2.5% of adults in the United States (Department of Health and Human Services, 2000) and between 1% and 3% in Canada (Sullivan et al, 2011).…”

“…Though the evidence base focusing on age-related health conditions among persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities is relatively small, it suggests that persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience higher rates of age-related health conditions than the general population (Cooper, 1997;Haveman et al, 2010;Krahn, Hammond, & Turner, 2006;World Health Organization, 2000)dmost often at earlier ages (see Marks et al, 2008). For example, older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are known to have higher rates of dementia than the general population (Strydom, Chan, King, Hassiotis, & Livingston, 2013;Torr, 2005).…”

“…The authors note that while older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in their study were accessing an increasing proportion of resources, it was likely not as much as their conditions would indicate is needed . Marks et al (2008) similarly remarked that needs do not always translate into relevant health care services. These authors note, for example, inequities in receipt of palliative or end-of-life care services (which may be provided in hospital or in the community) among older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in spite of the increasing life expectancy in this population.…”

Do people with intellectual disabilities understand their prescription medication? A scoping review

“…People with intellectual disabilities may be at increased risk of poor medication knowledge as they often experience additional challenges in health-related communication due to factors including lack of accessible information, poor communication skills of healthcare professionals and communication, and adaptive and cognitive difficulties associated with intellectual disabilities (Marks, Sisirak, & Hsieh, 2008;Mastebroek, Naaldenberg, Lagro-Janssen, & van Schrojenstein Lantman de Valk, 2014). Indeed, Strydom, Forster, Wilkie, Edwards, and Hall (2001) found that over half of people with intellectual disabilities interviewed were unable to read the label on their antipsychotic medicine and 86% did not know, or only knew one of, the adverse effects of their medication.…”