Health and Health-Care Utilization of the Older Population of Ireland: Comparing the Intellectual Disability Population and the General Population

Abstract

Background/objectives: Largely unresearched are the similarities and differences compared to the general population in the aging of people with an intellectual disability (ID). Data reported here compare the health and health-care utilization of the general aging population in Ireland with those who are aging with ID.

Design: Data for comparisons were drawn from the 2010 The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and the Intellectual Disability Supplement (IDS)-TILDA Wave 1 data sets.

Setting: TILDA participants were community dwelling only while IDS-TILDA participants were drawn from community and institutional settings.

Participants: TILDA consists of a sample of 8,178 individuals aged 50 years and older who were representative of the Irish population. The IDS-TILDA consists of a random sample of 753 persons aged 40 and older. Using age 50 as the initial criterion, 478 persons with ID were matched with TILDA participants on age, sex, and geographic location to create the sample for this comparison.

Measurements: Both studies gathered self-reported data on physical and mental health, behavioral health, functional limitations, and health-care utilization.

Results: Rates of chronic disease appeared higher overall for people with ID as compared to the general population. There were also age-related differences in the prevalence of diabetes and cancer and different rates of engagement between the two groups in relevant behavioral health activities such as smoking. There were higher utilization levels among IDS-TILDA participants for allied health and general practitioner visits.

Conclusion: Different disease trajectories found among IDS-TILDA participants raise concerns. The longitudinal comparison of data for people with ID and for the general population offered a better opportunity for the unique experiences of people with ID to be included in data that inform health planning.

Keywords: health; intellectual disability; longitudinal; utilization.