Children with intellectual disabilities or cerebral palsy and survive to adulthood often see lower life expectancies than the average person. A study in Australia may have pinpointed one of the causes. Medical Xpress reports.
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The researchers looked at the records of more than 42,000 people with an intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and other diseases between the years of 2005 and 2015. They found that people with an ID were eight times more likely to die of cancer. Having a mental illness or Down’s syndrome also significantly increased the chances of death.
They concluded that it wasn’t because of the comorbid conditions but that people with intellectual disabilities face barriers to receiving appropriate care from doctors. They often receive inadequate or inappropriate treatment.
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One mother highlighted in the article had a child who suffered a hypoxic (too little oxygen) brain injury at the age of seven. When the child was 44, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. According to the mother, his doctors didn’t take the condition seriously. They delayed surgery and denied him the options for chemotherapy because it was believed he wouldn’t sit still for treatments. The child died one year later.
The study is the first to show that people with intellectual disabilities are more likely to die. Furthermore, people with an ID along with cerebral palsy have their risks doubled for dying.
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