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THE PREVALENCE OF MENTAL RETARDATION IN TASMANIA
Author(s) -
Henderson Scott,
Pate George,
Wegman Sheelagh,
Ross Dlarmid
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1972.tb116495.x
Subject(s) - demography , census , mentally retarded , prevalence , medicine , population , age groups , mental health , pediatrics , gerontology , environmental health , psychiatry , psychology , developmental psychology , sociology
A census of ascertained mentally retarded persons was conducted in the island of Tasmania. The point prevalence was 5.41 per 1,000. The age of maximum prevalence was 10 to 14 years, when rates of 22.39 per 1,000 for males and 11.37 per 1,000 for females were reached. These rates are likely to reflect the true prevalence in all age groups. An excess of high‐grade males over females was noted, but no satisfactory explanation was found. There is no evidence that Tasmania has an excess prevalence of mental retardation compared with other geographical areas. Considerable interregional variation in prevalence rates was found. Community retention was satisfactory in the younger age groups, but diminished after the teenage years, when few alternatives to hospital care were available, particularly for those with medium or severe degrees of retardation. It is suggested that the mildly retarded constitute a readily identifiable high‐risk group in the population. Better supervision of their domestic lives and effective arrangements for primary prevention are therefore a logical requirement in future service organization. The present study is a first step in obtaining operational data for the planning of future services.