The Life Expectancy of People with Intellectual Disabilities in Germany

Abstract

Background: This study presents age group-specific mortality rates and the average life expectancy of people with intellectual disabilities in Germany.

Method: For two samples from Westphalia-Lippe and Baden-Wuerttemberg, person-related data for the years 2007-2009 were analysed. Age group-specific mortality rates were estimated by exponential regression analyses.

Results: The average life expectancy of men with intellectual disabilities was 70.9 years in Westphalia-Lippe and 65.3 years in the Baden-Wuerttemberg sample. Women with intellectual disabilities reached a life expectancy of 72.8 years in the Westphalian sample and 69.9 years in Baden-Wuerttemberg. The mortality tables, the crude mortality rates and the standardized mortality rates according to the WHO standard population are reported.

Conclusion: Comparing the results with other international studies, the trend of increasing life expectancies of people with intellectual disabilities is confirmed. People with intellectual disabilities still have a lower average life expectancy than the general population, partly due to subgroups with low life expectancies.

Keywords: Germany; age structure; demographic change; intellectual disabilities; life expectancy; mortality.