Intellectual disability puts people at higher risk of dying earlier in life than the general population, for a variety of reasons.
The main symptom is difficulty thinking and understanding. Life skills that can be impacted upon include certain conceptual, social and practical skills.
In a new study, researchers examined how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected this group, which makes up 1-3% of the US population.
They found that intellectual disability was second only to older age as a risk factor for dying from COVID-19.
The chances of dying from COVID-19 are higher for those with intellectual disability than they are for people with congestive heart failure, kidney disease or lung disease.
The research was conducted by a team from Jefferson Health.
In the study, the team examined 64 million patient records from 547 healthcare organizations between January 2019 to November 2020 to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with intellectual disabilities.
They identified variables such as COVID-19, intellectual disability or other health conditions, as well as demographic factors such as age.
The results showed that those with intellectual disabilities were 2.5 times more likely to contract COVID-19, were about 2.7 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital and 5.9 times more likely to die from the infection than the general population.
The team says that patients with intellectual disabilities may have less ability to comply with strategies that reduce the risk of infection, such as masking and social distancing.
In addition, these patients are more likely to have additional health conditions that contribute to a more severe course of COVID-19 disease.
The results of the study highlight how these issues become compounded in this population.
One author of the study is Jonathan Gleason, M.D.
The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Catalyst.
Copyright © 2021 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
