Service Provision to Older Adults with Developmental Disabilities: A Survey of Service Providers

On a effectué un sondage des prestateurs de services pour déterminer les enjeux de la prestation de services aux adultes vieillissant souffrant de troubles de développement. On a fait parvenir 75 questionnaires à 38 organismes s'occupant de soutien aux aîné(e)s souffrant ou non de troubles de développement. Quarante-quatre, soit 59 pour cent des questionnaires, ont été retournés. Les résultats laissent entendre que les prestateurs de services ne se sentent pas bien formés pour répondre à plusieurs des besoins des adultes vieillissant souffrant de troubles de développement. Les personnes ayant répondu au questionnaire ont demandé de la formation supplémentaire pour s'occuper de certains aspects des soins, notamment la santé et les inquiétudes médicales des adultes vieillissant souffrant de troubles de développement ainsi que pour la planification de leurs loisirs et de leur retraite. Ils ont également demandé de l'aide de professionnels, par exemple des psychologues et du personnel médical, connaissant la population dont ils s'occupent. Les résultats se rapprochaient de ceux de sondages précédents faisant ressortir l'importance de la formation des soignants et de l'appui médical. Les renseignements recueillis mettent à jour et étendent nos connaissances des besoins de ceux qui se consacrent au service des aîné(e)s vieillissant(e)s souffrant de troubles de développement au Canada et fournissent des détails sur les types de données et de soutien nécessaires. Le document présente également des recommandations préliminaires sur la modification de la prestation des services, sur les politiques et sur les programmes éducatifs.

Health conditions associated with aging and end of life of adults with Down syndrome

Expectations for the life course of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have changed, with life expectancy estimates increasing from 12 in 1949 to nearly 60 years of age today (Bittles & Glasson, 2004; Penrose, 1949). Along with this longer life expectancy comes a larger population of adults with DS who display premature age-related changes in their health. There is thus a need to provide specialized health care to this aging population of adults with DS who are at high risk for some conditions and at lower risk for others. This review focuses on the rates and contributing factors to medical conditions that are common in adults with DS or that show changes with age. The review of medical conditions includes the increased risk for skin and hair changes, early onset menopause, visual and hearing impairments, adult onset seizure disorder, thyroid dysfunction, diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea and musculoskeletal problems. The different pattern of conditions associated with the mortality of adults with DS is also reviewed.

Residential characteristics, social factors, and mortality among adults with intellectual disabilities: transitions out of nursing homes

The present study examined the degree to which residential characteristics and social factors are associated with mortality, after controlling for personal characteristics, among adults with intellectual disabilities who have resided in nursing homes (facilities providing skilled care and related services) at baseline in the Chicago area. Initial assessments were conducted on 330 residents, and 2 follow ups were performed over 10 years. Seventy-one residents had died by the end of the study. The variables examined included personal characteristics of age, gender, intellectual level, health, and adaptive behavior; residential characteristics of type of residence, size of facility, attractiveness of physical environment (cleanliness, conditions, and aesthetic appeal), and diversity of physical environment (personalization of residents' rooms and distinctiveness of all living spaces); and social factors of family involvement and community integration. The results indicated, beyond age, adaptive behavior, and health, that size of residences, residential characteristics, and social factors are related to mortality.

Factors predicting mortality in midlife adults with and without Down syndrome living with family

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the mortality of individuals with Down syndrome who have lived at home with their families throughout their lives. The current study evaluates the predictors, causes and patterns of mortality among co-residing individuals in midlife with Down syndrome as compared with co-residing individuals with ID owing to other causes.

METHOD

This paper examines mortality in 169 individuals with and 292 individuals without Down syndrome from 1988 to 2007. Dates and causes of death were obtained from maternal report, the Social Security Death Index and the National Death Index. Risk factors predicting mortality, including demographic variables, transition variables, and initial and change measures of health, functional abilities and behaviour problems, were obtained from maternal report.

RESULTS

Having Down syndrome is a risk factor of mortality, net of other risk factors including older age, poorer functional abilities, worsening behaviour problems, residential relocation and parental death. The causes of death among individuals with and without Down syndrome who are in midlife and co-residing with their families are similar, and are most commonly due to cardiovascular or respiratory problems.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that midlife adults with Down syndrome who co-reside with their families generally exhibit similar causes of mortality as do midlife adults with intellectual disability owing to other causes, but show an elevated risk of mortality in midlife net of other variables, such as age and changes in functional abilities and behaviour problems.

Influence of epilepsy on mortality in mental retardation: an epidemiologic study

PURPOSE

A cohort consisting of all persons with known mental retardation (MR) and living in a Swedish province on December 31, 1985, was followed for 7 years (1987-1992) to study the mortality pattern.

METHODS

A file of the cohort was linked to the cause-of-death pattern of the general population in the study area.

RESULTS

One hundred twenty-four deaths (8.4%) occurred among the 1,478 persons with MR. Thirty deaths (10.1%) occurred among the 296 persons with epilepsy and MR. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) in those with only MR was significantly increased as compared with that of the general population: 1.6 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-2.0]; MR and epilepsy, 5.0 (CI 3.3-7.5); and MR, epilepsy, and cerebral palsy (CP), 5.8 (CI 3.4-9.7). Mortality was increased both in patients with partial seizures without seizures secondarily generalized (SMR 3.7, CI 1.0-13.6) and in patients with seizures secondarily generalized (5.0, CI 2.3-11.0). The highest mortality occurred in patients who had seizures that were always generalized from the onset: 8.1 (CI 5.7-11.5). Mortality increased with increasing seizure frequency during the year preceding the prevalence date. In patients with epilepsy and MR, pneumonia was the most common cause of death and a seizure was the probable cause of death in 6.7%.

CONCLUSIONS

Epilepsy is associated with a significantly increased mortality in persons with MR. The increase is related to seizure type and seizure frequency. Death in persons with epilepsy and MR is seldom directly due to seizures. Other impairments associated with epilepsy and MR are important causes of death.

The life expectancy of profoundly handicapped people with mental retardation

BACKGROUND

The life expectancy of people with mental retardation is shorter than that of the general population. Exact estimates of the length of survival for mentally retarded persons at especially high risk are not available, however.

METHODS

We collected data on mortality and other factors for 99,543 persons with developmental disabilities, including mental retardation, who received services from the California Department of Developmental Services between March 1984 and October 1987. Three subgroups were selected on the basis of the four characteristics identified in previous studies as the best predictors of mortality among mentally retarded people (deficits in cognitive function, limitations on mobility, incontinence, and inability to eat without assistance). In all three subgroups, the subjects had severe deficits in cognitive function and were incontinent; the subjects in subgroup 1 (n = 1550) were immobile and required tube feeding; those in subgroup 2 (n = 4513) were immobile but could eat with assistance; those in subgroup 3 (n = 997) were mobile (but not ambulatory) and could eat with assistance. Life tables were generated for each of the three subgroups.

RESULTS

Immobile subjects were found to have a much shorter life expectancy than those who could move about. Those who also required tube feeding (subgroup 1) had a very short life expectancy (i.e., four to five additional years). Those who could eat if fed by others (subgroup 2) had an average life expectancy of approximately eight additional years. In contrast, those who were mobile though not ambulatory (subgroup 3) had a life expectancy of about 23 additional years.

CONCLUSIONS

Severe mental retardation is associated with a decrease in life expectancy, particularly for those who were immobile.