| Summary: | 碩士 === 國防醫學院 === 公共衛生學研究所 === 102 === Background: Aging in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) is an important public health issue. As the medical technology improves, their life expectancy increases. People with ID are more likely to have high risk for dementia and worse functioning of activities of daily living (ADL) than general population. Therefore, the need of medical treatment and care are an important problem. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the dementia conditions and the functioning of ADL and to examine the possible factors toward dementia conditions and ADL capabilities in middle-aged and aging people with ID. Methods: A national survey was conducted to recruit 485 community residents with ID and aged 45 years or older in Taiwan, and analyzed using SPSS 20.0. Results: Results show that the mean age of ID adults was 55 years, and 51.1 % were male respondents. In our sample, Severe disability accounting for 34.8% of the sample, 6.7% had a comorbid diagnosis of Down’s syndrome, and 25.8% were reported to be diagnosed with neurological disease or mental illness currently. Besides, 16.5% of the adults with ID might have dementia conditions, and 49.8% were totally independent, 2.3% were totally dependent. After controlling for other factors in a multiple logistic regression analysis, the older adults with ID (OR = 2.594, 95% CI = 1.438–4.679) and those individuals with a comorbid diagnosis of mental illness or neurological disease (OR = 2.826, 95% CI = 1.593–5.012) had a higher risk of dementia than their counterparts. The multiple linear regression model reported that factors of gender, marital status, education level, Down’s syndrome, severe or profound disability level, comorbid condition and dementia conditions were variables that were able to significantly predict the ADL score after controlling for age. Conclusions: The study highlights that adults with ID had a higher risk of dementia because of aging and comorbid. In addition, it might influence ADL capabilities. Therefore, this study suggests that it is important to develop appropriate strategies for adults with ID and their caregiver.
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