Prevalence of intellectual disability in Western Australia.
Record linkage of multiple sources was used to ascertain children with intellectual disability born in Western Australia between 1983 and 1992. The prevalence was 14.3 per 1000, 10.6 per 1000 for children with mild or moderate and 1.4 per 1000 for those with a severe level of intellectual disability. Prevalence was greater in males (prevalence ratio 1.6) and in children of Aboriginal mothers (prevalence ratio 2.3). Although prevalence of intellectual disability has been found to vary according to study location, method of ascertainment and criteria used, these estimates are similar to estimates from several recent studies.
Leonard
Helen
H
Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Western Australia. hleonard@cyllene.uwa.edu.au
Petterson
Beverly
B
Bower
Carol
C
Sanders
Richard
R
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008498:Medical Record Linkage; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology