Aging with intellectual and developmental disabilities and dementia in Manitoba
| Published date | 03 July 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/AMHID-03-2017-0007 |
| Pages | 134-144 |
| Date | 03 July 2017 |
| Author | Shahin Shooshtari,Brenda M. Stoesz,Leslie Udell,Leanne Fenez,Natalia Dik,Charles Burchill,Elizabeth Sachs,Verena Menec |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities |
Aging with intellectual and developmental
disabilities and dementia in Manitoba
Shahin Shooshtari, Brenda M. Stoesz, Leslie Udell, Leanne Fenez, Natalia Dik,
Charles Burchill, Elizabeth Sachs and Verena Menec
Abstract
Purpose –Information on the risk of dementia in aging persons with intellectual and/or developmental
disability (IDD) in Manitoba, Canada is lacking. The purpose of this paper is to estimate dementia prevalence
in adults with IDD.
Design/methodology/approach –Anonymized population-level health and non-health administrative data
(1979-2012) contained in the Population Health Research Data Repository of the Manitoba Centre for Health
Policy (MCHP) were linked to identify adults with IDD, and estimate the prevalence of dementia based on the
presence of ICD codes. Prevalence of dementia was estimated for persons aged 18-55 years and 55+ years,
and was reported by sex, type of residence, region of residence, neighbourhood income quintiles, and IDD
diagnostic category.
Findings –Of the 8,655 adults with IDD identified, 8.1 per cent had an indicationof dementia in their medical
records; an estimate three times greater than that found for those without IDD (2.6 per cent). More than
17 per cent of Manitobans with IDD aged 55+ years had an indication of dementia, which was nearly twice
the rate reported previously. Of those with IDD and dementia, 34.7 per cent lived in long-term care facilities.
Originality/value –Health and social support services are typically available to individuals with dementia
aged 65+ years; thus, younger adults with IDD and dementia may not be eligible for those supports.
To promote equity in health and access to care, dementia screening and increased supports for aging
individuals with IDD are recommended.
Keywords Long-term care, Dementia, Administrative data, Aging, Data linkage,
Intellectual and developmental disabilities
Paper type Research paper
An estimated 1-3 per cent of the world’s population has some type of intellectual and/or
developmental disability (IDD; World Health Organization, 2001). In Canada, 300,000-900,000
individuals have a diagnosis of IDD (Bradley et al., 2002). Because many individuals with IDD
have co-existing conditions, such as physical disabilities, mental health issues, hearing and/or
vision impairments, and communication disorders (Ouellette-Kuntz et al., 2005), they require
ongoing support for health, housing, education, and employment.
Signs of aging, including deteriorating mental abilities a nd increased mental health issues and
deteriorating physicalfunctioning (e.g. falls,incontinence), in individuals with IDD (Warket al.,2016)
may appear earlier than in the general population. For example , adults with Down syndrome (DS)
often show signs of aging in their 40s and 50s (Janicki et al., 1999). The life expectancy of
individualswith IDD is often shorterthan that of the generalpopulation (Bittleset al., 2002), although
an increasing number of persons with IDD now live into their 60s and 70s (Glasson et al., 2003).
Given the increasing life expectancy (Ouellette-Kuntz et al., 2005), the risk of developing
aging-associated diseases, such as dementia also increases.
Dementia is a mental disorder characterised by loss of memory and other cognitive functions of
sufficient severity to interfere with daily living skills (e.g. social or occupational functioning; APA,
2000). Dementia isa growing source of morbidity and mortality in IDD, but few population-based
studies haveexamined the dementia prevalencein IDD. These studies, conductedin the USA, UK,
Ireland, Australia, and Canada report considerable variation in dementia prevalence. Results of a
Received 7 March 2017
Revised 1 May 2017
19 June 2017
Accepted 26 June 2017
Conflict of interests: the team
declares no conflicts of interest.
The authors acknowledge and
thank St Amant Inc., Winnserv
Inc., Direct Action in Support of
Community Homes (DASCH) Inc.,
Shalom Residences Inc., and New
Directions for Children, Youth,
Adults & Families for funding the
project and their contribution to
the research study summarised
in this report. The authors
acknowledge the Manitoba Centre
for Health Policy (MCHP),
University of Manitoba for use of
data contained in the Population
Health Research Data Repository
(The Repository) under project
HIPC approval number 2013/
2014-42. The results and
conclusions made are those
of the authors and no official
endorsement by the MCHP,
Manitoba Health, Health Living and
Seniors, Manitoba Department of
Families, or other data providers
are intended or should be inferred.
The authors’affiliations can be
found at the end of this article.
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VOL. 11 NO. 4 2017, pp.134-144, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2044-1282 DOI 10.1108/AMHID-03-2017-0007
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