Prevalence of mental retardation and developmental disabilities: estimates from the 1994/1995 National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplements.
In 1994 and 1995, the National Health Interview Survey included a Disability Supplement (NHIS-D) to collect extensive information about disabilities among individuals sampled as part of annual census-based household interview surveys. Here we describe the development and application of operational definitions of mental retardation and developmental disabilities to items in the NHIS-D to estimate prevalence. In our analyses, we estimate the prevalence of mental retardation in the noninstitutionalized population of the United States to be 7.8 people per thousand (.78%); of developmental disabilities, 11.3 people per thousand (1.13%); and the combined prevalence of mental retardation and/or developmental disabilities to be 14.9 per thousand (1.49%). Differences in prevalence estimates for mental retardation and developmental disabilities and among people of various ages are explored.
Larson
S A
SA
Research and Training Center on Community Living, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA. larso072@umn.edu
Lakin
K C
KC
Anderson
L
L
Kwak
N
N
Lee
J H
JH
Anderson
D
D
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires