Intellectual Disability, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Risk for Dementia
In: Journal of policy and practice in intellectual disabilities: official journal of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities, Volume 10, Issue 3, p. 245-251
ISSN: 1741-1130
AbstractPeople with intellectual disability (ID) are living longer than ever before, raising concerns about old‐age‐associated disorders. Dementia is among the most serious of these disorders, and theories relating cognitive reserve to risk predict that older adults with ID should be particularly vulnerable. Previous estimates of relative risk for dementia associated with ID have been inconsistent, and the present analyses examined the possible influence of variation in diagnostic criteria on findings. As expected, relaxation in the stringency of case definition for adults with ID increased relative risk, underscoring the importance of developing valid criteria for defining mild cognitive impairment and early dementia and distinguishing between the two in adults with ID. Once available, these standards will contribute to more effective evidence‐based planning.