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Associations between behaviour disorders and health status among older adults with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- DAVIDSON P. W., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 7(6), November 2003, pp.424-430.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Few studies have examined the relationship of behaviour and health status among aging persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Behavioural disorders, which often are coincident with functional decline in older persons with I/DD, may be more related to medical morbidity than previously reported. This cross-sectional study examined the association between health status and behaviour disorders with increasing age in a cohort of 60,752 adults with I/DD clustered into four adult-age groupings (21-44, 45-59, 60-74, and >74). Age grouping data suggested an association between morbidity and increased likelihood of behaviour symptoms in all but the oldest age grouping. The magnitude of the association and trend varied by specific disease across age groupings compared to that found in healthy cohorts. About 25% of the adults with I/DD had psychiatric diagnoses and the frequency of such diagnoses did not decrease with age grouping. These results suggest that adverse health status may increase the likelihood of persistent behavioural disturbances in older persons with I/DD. Moreover, behavioural disorders may be sentinels for occult medical morbidity, which in turn may be responsive to intervention.