title: Mental health, behaviour and intellectual abilities of people with Down syndrome.
abstract: The mental health, adaptive behaviour and intellectual abilities of people with Down syndrome (n=129) were evaluated in a population-based survey of social and health care records. Females had better cognitive abilities and speech production compared with males. Males had more behavioural problems than females. Behaviour suggestive of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was often seen in childhood. Depression was diagnosed mainly in adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability. Autistic behaviour was most common in individuals with profound intellectual disability. Elderly people often showed decline of adaptive behaviour associated with Alzheimer's disease. Case descriptions are presented to illustrate the multitude of mental health and behavioural issues seen from childhood to old age in this population.
authors.affiliation: Service Centre of Kuusanmäki, University of Oulu, Finland. tuomo.maatta@kainuu.fi
authors.forename: Tuomo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Määttä
authors.forename: Tuula
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tervo-Määttä
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taanila
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaski
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iivanainen
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D011153:Population; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D012727:Sex Characteristics