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Meeting the health care needs of school-age children with intellectual disability

J McBrien1, S Macken

  • 1The Children's University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin 1. jacqueline.mcbrien@hse.ie

Irish Medical Journal
|October 31, 2009
PubMed

Insights

This study highlights the complex medical needs of school-aged children with intellectual disability (ID) in Ireland, finding genetic causes in nearly half. Better data is needed to improve services for this population.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Epidemiology
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Intellectual disability (ID) affects 1-3% of the population globally.
  • There is a significant lack of medical epidemiological data for individuals with ID in Ireland.
  • Such data is crucial for effective service planning, healthcare provision, and prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the underlying diagnoses and co-morbidities in school-aged children with ID within a specific Health Service Executive area in Ireland.
  • To provide essential medical epidemiological data to inform the development of services for individuals with intellectual disability.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective analysis of medical data was conducted for 97 school-aged children diagnosed with intellectual disability.
  • Data collected included underlying causes of disability and co-occurring medical conditions.

Main Results:

  • Nearly half (48.5%) of the children had a chromosomal or genetic explanation for their ID.
  • Environmental causes accounted for 16.5%, with 35% having no identified cause.
  • High rates of co-morbidities were observed, including epilepsy (36%), gastro-intestinal problems (35%), respiratory conditions (25%), congenital heart disease (15%), visual impairment (32%), and hearing impairment (31%).

Conclusions:

  • Children with intellectual disability exhibit complex medical needs and a high prevalence of co-morbidities.
  • Expansion of national databases to include medical epidemiological data is recommended to guide future service development for individuals with ID.

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