“COVID-19 significantly increases mortality rates among people with intellectual disabilities according to study by Radboudumc in The Lancet Public Health, with at least 785 deaths reported, indicating need for greater attention to disability vulnerability in clinical practice and public health policy.”

2023-05-03 17:01:48

The life expectancy of people with intellectual disabilities is lower than that of the general population. This difference increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers at Radboudumc are registering this The Lancet Public Health.

To determine the exact size of the differences in mortality, the researchers compared the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021) with the years 2015-2019 before the pandemic broke out. Mortality from COVID-19 was found to be more than 4 times higher in the intellectual disability population than in the general population, with a particularly large difference at a younger age.

At least 785 people with intellectual disabilities have died from COVID-19 in the corona years, more than 600 more than expected based on mortality in the general population. They also saw that mortality from cancer, neurological disorders and from external causes (such as a fall) increased more. This is an indication that the existing health inequalities between people with and without intellectual disabilities have increased further during the pandemic.

Based on the study, the researchers conclude that more attention should be paid to the vulnerability of people with disabilities in both clinical practice and public health policy. In addition, better infrastructure is needed for the monitoring of risk groups in such crisis situations.

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Radboudumc