- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- 9.1 General issues
- 9.2 Clinical syndromes
- 9.3 Situations affecting child mental health
- 9.4 The child as witness
- 9.5 Treatment methods for children and adolescents
- Section 10 Intellectual Disability (Mental Retardation)
- 10.1 Classification, diagnosis, psychiatric assessment, and needs assessment
- 10.2 Prevalence of intellectual disabilities and epidemiology of mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities
- 10.3 Aetiology of intellectual disability: general issues and prevention
- 10.4 Syndromes causing intellectual disability
- 10.5 Psychiatric and behaviour disorders among mentally retarded people
- 10.6 Methods of treatment
- 10.7 Special needs of adolescents and elderly people with intellectual disability
- 10.8 Families with a member with intellectual disability and their needs
- 10.9 The planning and provision of psychiatric services for adults with intellectual disability
- Section 11 Forensic Psychiatry
Prevalence of intellectual disabilities and epidemiology of mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities
- Chapter:
- Prevalence of intellectual disabilities and epidemiology of mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities
- Author(s):
Sally-Ann Cooper
and Elita Smiley
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199696758.003.0242
♦ The prevalence of intellectual disabilities varies, depending upon definition, country, time, age range, and methods of population ascertainment. Reported rates vary substantially, and may be in the order of 9–14/1000 childhood populations, 3–8/1000 adult populations in developed countries, and higher in developing countries. ♦ Mental ill-health is more commonly experienced by adults with intellectual disabilities than the general population. Point prevalence is about 40 per cent, with problem behaviours being the most prevalent type. ♦ Dementia, problem behaviours, autism, bipolar disorder, and psychoses are more prevalent than for the general population. ♦ Incident mental ill-health is also greater than for the general population, at about 8 per cent per year. Common mental disorders and psychoses both have higher incidence than that for the general population. ♦ There is limited information on the protective and vulnerability factors for mental ill-health. ♦ Some factors related to prevalence and incidence of mental ill-health are similar to those found in the general population suggesting similar underlying causative mechanisms, but other factors differ, suggesting that inferences cannot necessarily be drawn from general population data and applied to the population with intellectual disabilities. ♦ Identifying high-risk groups within the population may allow for the provision of early interventions and supports, whilst some causative factors may be amenable to interventions to prevent or improve mental ill-health in this population. We need to gain a better understanding of these issues.
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- Section 1 The Subject Matter of and Approach to Psychiatry
- 1.3 Psychiatry as a worldwide public health problem
- 1.4 The history of psychiatry as a medical specialty
- 1.5 Ethics and values
- 1.6 The psychiatrist as a manager
- 1.7 Descriptive phenomenology
- 1.8 Assessment
- 1.9 Diagnosis and classification
- 1.10 From science to practice
- Section 2 The Scientific Basis of Psychiatric Aetiology
- 2.3 The contribution of neurosciences
- 2.4 The contribution of genetics
- 2.5 The contribution of psychological science
- 2.6 The contribution of social sciences
- 2.7 The contribution of epidemiology to psychiatric aetiology
- Section 3 Psychodynamic Contributions to Psychiatry
- Section 4 Clinical Syndromes of Adult Psychiatry
- 4.4 Persistent delusional symptoms and disorders
- 4.5 Mood disorders
- 4.6 Stress-related and adjustment disorders
- 4.7 Anxiety disorders
- Section 5 Psychiatry and Medicine
- Section 6 Treatment Methods in Psychiatry
- 6.2 Somatic treatments
- Section 7 Social Psychiatry and Service Provision
- Section 8 The Psychiatry of Old Age
- Section 9 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- 9.1 General issues
- 9.2 Clinical syndromes
- 9.3 Situations affecting child mental health
- 9.4 The child as witness
- 9.5 Treatment methods for children and adolescents
- Section 10 Intellectual Disability (Mental Retardation)
- 10.1 Classification, diagnosis, psychiatric assessment, and needs assessment
- 10.2 Prevalence of intellectual disabilities and epidemiology of mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities
- 10.3 Aetiology of intellectual disability: general issues and prevention
- 10.4 Syndromes causing intellectual disability
- 10.5 Psychiatric and behaviour disorders among mentally retarded people
- 10.6 Methods of treatment
- 10.7 Special needs of adolescents and elderly people with intellectual disability
- 10.8 Families with a member with intellectual disability and their needs
- 10.9 The planning and provision of psychiatric services for adults with intellectual disability
- Section 11 Forensic Psychiatry