Adults with a more severe learning disability also have a greater likelihood of having autism according to a new report published by the NHS Information Centre. The report combines data from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) 2007 with findings from a new study based on a sample of people with learning disabilities living in [read the full story…]
This update from the improving health and lives public health observatory updates previous work from 2008, where estimates of future need for services for people with learning disabilities were made. The current report estimates the need for adult social care support for people with learning disabilities in England for the period 2009-2026. The new model [read the full story…]
The researchers in this study were interested in looking at the extent to which a diagnosis of learning disability met current diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) diagnostic criteria. They wanted to know the prevalence of reported autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and the extent to which the assessment of developmental issues was seen [read the full story…]
In this US study, the authors looked at the prevalence of obesity in people with learning disability and those in the general U.S. adult population without learning disability. They found that adults with learning disability did not differ from the general population in prevalence of obesity. However, when they combined obesity and overweight they found [read the full story…]
This Australian study set out to look at the use of restraints and seclusion as responses to people with learning disabilities with behaviour described as challenging. The authors point out that the prevalence rate of such restrictive practices is difficult to agree as previous studies have not used population-level data. They used data on the [read the full story…]
We have posted elsewhere on the site about the issue of support for parents with learning disabilities and the differences in perspective that exist between parents with disabilities and the professionals who support them. The authors of this study looked at the need for accurate planning data to support the development of support services. The [read the full story…]
This cross sectional study uses data from the Health Survey for England to explore the relationship between poor mental health and low income. The research team from Exeter University included 94,870 adults in the study (1997-2006) which used the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to assess happiness, symptoms of anxiety or depression and sleep disturbance [read the full story…]
The researchers in this study set out to look at international comparisons at the European level in the health conditions and health risk factors of people with learning disabilities. They looked at people living in fully staffed residential services compared with those living in unstaffed family homes or independent houses with no formal support. The [read the full story…]
The authors of this review set out to provide a comprehensive, critical review of the clinically relevant literature concerning depression in Down syndrome (DS) focusing on epidemiology, potential risk factors, diagnosis, course characteristics and treatment. The search was carried out in January 2011 and excluded review articles not adding new information and single case reports. [read the full story…]
Whilst there is no evidence that dementia affects people with learning disabilities in ways that are different to those without learning disability, there is a risk that the early stages of the disease may be missed or misinterpreted. People with Down syndrome may present with clinical symptoms in their late 40s or early 50s. Estimates [read the full story…]
