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Mortality in a large southeastern facility for persons with mental retardation
K F O'Brien1, K Tate, E S Zaharia
1East Carolina University, Preventive Medicine and Public Health Policy, Greenville, NC 27858-4354.
American Journal of Mental Retardation : AJMR
|January 1, 1991
Summary
Mortality rates for institutionalized individuals with mental retardation significantly improved between 1974-1985. Profound intellectual disability was linked to higher mortality, with respiratory disease being a leading cause.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology and Public Health
- Intellectual Disability Research
- Mortality Studies
Background:
- Institutionalized populations with mental retardation (now intellectual disability) have unique health and mortality profiles.
- Understanding trends in mortality is crucial for improving care and resource allocation for this vulnerable group.
- Previous data on mortality causes and rates within institutions were limited, especially across different severity levels of intellectual disability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze mortality rates among institutionalized persons with mental retardation over two distinct time periods.
- To examine variations in mortality based on age, race, gender, and the severity of intellectual disability.
- To identify the primary causes of death within this population and assess changes over time.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of mortality data for institutionalized individuals.
- Data collected and compared for two intervals: 1974–1979 and 1980–1985.
- Stratification of mortality rates by age, race, gender, and level of intellectual disability (profound vs. mild/moderate/severe).
Main Results:
- Overall mortality rates showed significant improvement between the two study periods.
- Individuals with profound intellectual disability experienced higher mortality rates compared to those with mild to severe intellectual disability.
- Respiratory disease was the leading cause of death for those with profound intellectual disability; heart disease and cancer predominated for others. No consistent differences were found based on race or gender.
Conclusions:
- Significant progress in reducing mortality has been achieved for institutionalized individuals with intellectual disability.
- The severity of intellectual disability is a key factor influencing mortality risk and causes of death.
- The aging institutionalized population indicates increasing frailty, necessitating tailored healthcare strategies.