title: The influence of intellectual disability on life expectancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To date, relatively few representative data have been available to health planners and advocacy groups on the life expectancy of people with intellectual disability. A study of trends in the survival profiles of people with intellectual disability was undertaken to assist in the planning of appropriate medical and support services.
  
  
  METHODS
  Since 1953, the Disability Services Commission of Western Australia has maintained a database of persons diagnosed with intellectual disability. The database was used to calculate survival probabilities on a total of 8724 individuals, 7562 of whom were still alive at the time of sampling in December 2000.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Kaplan-Meier survival plots showed a strong negative association between severity of intellectual disability and survival, with median life expectancies of 74.0, 67.6, and 58.6 years for people with mild, moderate, and severe levels of handicap. Significant negative associations also were observed with male gender, Indigenous Australian parentage, and individuals diagnosed with a specific genetic disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings indicate a major and expanding increase in the service requirements of this aging, intellectually disabled population during the past two generations.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health and Ageing, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia. a.bittles@ecu.edu.au
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Bittles
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Petterson
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Glasson
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Montgomery
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged