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The pervalence of severe mental handicap in Northern Ireland
Author(s) -
MALLION J. R.,
MacKay D. N.,
McDonald G.,
WILSON R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of intellectual disability research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.941
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1365-2788
pISSN - 0964-2633
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2788.1991.tb01032.x
Subject(s) - mental handicap , psychology , psychiatry , northern ireland , sociology , ethnology
. There are four administrative areas (Health and Social Services Boards) in Northern Ireland. Two prevalence surveys, carried out several years apart, show that there is a significant geographical gradient in the rates of severe mental handicap (IQ <50). The rates in the 20‐29‐year‐old groups in the Eastern and Northern Boards range between 4.07 and 4.82 per thousand; comparable rates in the Southern and Western Boards range between 5.17 and 6.37. A similar gradient was discernible in the distribution of Down's syndrome.