Did you know that ...
• intellectual disability is a group which any person can join... at any time... involuntarily? You may join at birth, or by accident, through illness or, quite
commonly, via the aging process.
• a disproportionate number of impoverished persons are intellectually disabled
... and, a disproportionate number of persons with intellectual disability are impoverished?
• after age 40, the risk of delivering an intellectually disabled baby increases
logarithmically.
• the Severe Intellectual Disability prevalence rate in Western countries (IQ <50)
is 3-4 per 1000 population
• Down syndrome is the commonest known cause of mild and severe intellectual disability?
Fetal Alcohol syndrome is the second commonest known cause in many countries.
• extremely low birth weight children, even with optimal socio-economic environments,
have a 50% chance of requiring special educational services and 20% are significantly
disabled?
• 80% of individuals with autism have significant intellectual disability? Conversely,
autistic ‘traits’ are very common amongst people with intellectual disability: the
full syndrome occurs in 17% overall and 27% of those with an IQ < 50
• smoking one cigarette per day on five or more days per week in pregnancy may increase
the risk of intellectual disability (IQ£70) by 50%? There is evidence of a dose
– response relationship.
• the most often quoted figures indicate that mental disorders occur substantially
more often in persons with intellectual disabilities than they do in populations
without intellectual disabilities?
• previous or current residence in large institutions place many persons with intellectual
disabilities at risk for past or present exposure to a number of infectious diseases,
including tuberculosis?
• communication difficulties arising from intellectual disabilities or associated
motor impairments can serve as a barrier to accurate medical evaluation?
• behavioral issues constitute another potential barrier to persons with intellectual
disabilities that may have difficulty cooperating with examinations and procedures
due to confusion, fear, and frustration that many persons with intellectual disabilities
may experience when they access health care services?
• characteristics associated with intellectual disability include low socio-economic
status of the family (44-50% of intellectual disability) and low level of maternal
formal education (20%)? Other significant associations include maternal IQ£70, multiple
births, low weight gain during pregnancy (<10 pounds), maternal anemia and maternal
urinary tract infection.
• specific populations of persons with intellectual disabilities have particular
health risks?
• industrialized countries are witnessing an increase in the longevity of adults
with an intellectual disability?
• as more people with intellectual disabilities attain older age, excess functional
impairment, morbidity, and even mortality can result from the consequences of early
age-onset conditions?
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