Placement, relocation and end of life issues in aging adults with and without Down's syndrome: a retrospective study

Aging adults with Down's syndrome (DS) experience more relocations and other life events than adults with intellectual disabilities aged 50 and older without DS. Age-related functional decline and the higher incidence of dementia were implicated as the contributing factors that led to relocation and nursing home placement.

A retrospective study of adults with intellectual disabilities who were born prior to the year 1946 was conducted to analyse the number of relocations experienced over a 5- and 10-year period. The cohort consisted of 140 individuals (61 with DS between ages 50-71 years, and 79 without DS between ages 57-89 years) who had been referred to a diagnostic and research clinic.

Analyses revealed the number of relocations over a 5- and 10-year period were significantly greater in the DS group. Placement in a nursing home for end of life care was significantly higher in the DS group whereas the majority (90%) in the non-DS group remained in a group home setting. Mortality was significantly earlier in the DS group with the mean age at death to be 61.4 years compared with 73.2 years in the non-DS group.

The present results suggest that aging adults with DS encounter more relocations, and are more likely to have their final placement for end of life care in a nursing home. In contrast, the adults without DS were subjected to less relocation and remained in the same group home setting.