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Screening of dementia indicating signs in adults with intellectual disabilities
Author(s) -
Arvio Maria,
BjelogrlicLaakso Nina
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1468-3148
pISSN - 1360-2322
DOI - 10.1111/jar.12888
Subject(s) - dementia , intellectual disability , down syndrome , affect (linguistics) , cognitive decline , learning disability , psychology , cognition , disease , gerontology , cognitive impairment , borderline intellectual functioning , psychiatry , medicine , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , communication
Background In intellectual disability, the cognitive delay is observed during developmental age, whereas in dementia, cognitive decline occurs during post‐developmental period. So far, the risk of dementia in people with intellectual disability, excluding those with Down syndrome, is poorly known. Method We screened dementia signs in a study group of 230 adults (34–80 years of age) with the help of the British Present Psychiatric State—Learning Disabilities assessment. Results Of the study members, 42% showed two or more signs. The overall frequency of symptoms did not differ between age groups. The number of individuals with a genetic syndrome or disease manifesting with a shortened lifespan was greater in the younger age groups when compared to the older age groups. Conclusion People with an intellectual disability represent numerous rare syndromes with comorbidities. It seems that dementia signs may affect any age groups of adults with intellectual disability.