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AbstractPersons with intellectual disabilities (ID) have twice as many health problems than the general public. The author discusses evidence‐based research on prevalence and best treatment of primary and secondary health problems in persons with ID. Citing the pan‐European Pomona project, European data were collected on training for health professionals regarding health of persons with ID. International cooperation in research and transport of expertise through exchange of students and professionals in this field are recommended.

This report has been prepared by the Ageing Special Interest Research Group of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities (IASSID) in collaboration with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence and the Programme on Ageing and Health, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland, and all rights are reserved by the above mentioned organization. The document may, however, be freely reviewed, abstracted, reproduced or translated in part, but not for sale or use in conjunction with commercial purposes. It may also be reproduced in full by non‐commercial entities for information or for educational purposes with prior permission from WHO/IASSID. The document is likely to be available in other languages also. For more information on this document, please visit the following websites: <http://www.uic.edu/orgs/rrtcamr/index.html>, <http://www.who.int/mental_health> and <http://www.iassid.org>.

AbstractLittle is known about the involvement of nurses in the process of making end‐of‐life decisions for people with intellectual disability (ID). The aim of this study was to clarify this process from the perspective of nurses. This qualitative study involved nine semistructured interviews with nurses working in chronic care, conducted after the deaths of patients with ID in the Netherlands. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Grounded Theory procedures. The core characteristic of the position of the nurses and of the way they supported the patient was "Being at the center of communication." Related categories of topics emerging from the interviews were "Having a complete picture of the patient," "Balancing involvement and distance," "Confidence in one's own opinion," and "Knowledge about one's own responsibility," all of which were focused on the patient. This focus on the patient with ID might explain why the nurses could make valuable contributions to such an important subject as end‐of‐life decisions. People with ID themselves were not involved in the decisions. The nurses were not always aware who was ultimately responsible for the end‐of‐life decisions. Nurses are in a unique position to support the process of end‐of‐life decision‐making. It is important to use their knowledge and give them a more prominent position in this decision‐making process. It should be clear to all involved who is ultimately responsible for making the end‐of‐life decisions.

Background  Evidence suggests that people with intellectual disabilities experience secondary health conditions and report inequities in health status and access to health systems. Reliable information is essential to identify health disparities. A review of health interview and health examination surveys conducted in 17 European countries was undertaken to determine whether people with intellectual disabilities were represented.Method  Using the online HIS HES database, 123 health surveys were scrutinized to determine whether they contained questions relevant to the Pomona 18 indicator set, and whether data could be extracted specifically on behalf of respondents with intellectual disabilities.Results  Findings reveal that while items relating to 16 of the Pomona 18 health indicators were found in 123 of the surveys scrutinized, only nine surveys were identified as having potential to extract data on respondents with intellectual disabilities.Conclusion  These findings have implications for those charged with the collection of comparable information about population health.

Background  The aims of this study were (1) to determine to what extent body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fat free mass index (FFMI) and skinfold thickness are feasible measurement options in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) to measure their weight status, and (2) to assess the level of agreement among these methods.Methods  BMI, waist circumference, FFMI derived from the Bioelectrical Impedance Analyser and skinfold thickness were all determined in 76 people with intellectual disabilities.Results  BMI and waist circumference could be measured in all subjects. Skinfold thickness and FFMI failed in, respectively, five and 14 people. In general, intertest reliabilities were low. For underweight people, the agreement was acceptable.Conclusions  BMI and waist circumference were feasible measurement options. Agreements among the methods were low. Implications of these results are discussed.

Abstract  Reported here are the preliminary results of the second Dutch National Survey of General Practice in which data were collected on all contacts with general practitioners (GPs) during a 12‐month period to determine characteristics of patients with intellectual disabilities (ID). Sociodemographic characteristics differed significantly between people with ID and controls, indicating significant differences in morbidity between the two groups (people with ID were found to have more psychological problems, more digestive problems, more ear problems, more neurological problems, and more general and unspecified problems).

As a major foodborne pathogen, Campylobacter is frequently isolated from food sources of animal origin. In contrast, human Campylobacter illness is relatively rare, but has a considerable health burden due to acute enteric illness as well as severe sequelae. To study silent transmission, serum antibodies can be used as biomarkers to estimate seroconversion rates, as a proxy for infection pressure. This novel approach to serology shows that infections are much more common than disease, possibly because most infections remain asymptomatic. This study used antibody titres measured in serum samples collected from healthy subjects selected randomly in the general population from several countries in the European Union (EU). Estimates of seroconversion rates to Campylobacter were calculated for seven countries: Romania, Poland, Italy, France, Finland, Denmark and The Netherlands. Results indicate high infection pressures in all these countries, slightly increasing in Eastern EU countries. Of these countries, the differences in rates of notified illnesses are much greater, with low numbers in France and Poland, possibly indicating lower probability of detection due to differences in the notification systems, but in the latter case it cannot be excluded that more frequent exposure confers better protection due to acquired immunity.

Abstract  The European Commission's Health Monitoring Programme culminated in the development of a set of European Community Health Indicators (ECHI) for the general population. Despite evidence of marked disparities between the health of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their peers in the general population, the ECHI contain no significant reference to people with ID. To address this deficit, a two‐year grant from the Health Monitoring Programme was awarded to the Pomona project (a collection of researchers from 13 European countries). The project comprised exchanges of expertise; a critical review of published evidence about health and ID; and consultative processes in member states. The project's finding was that there was no systematic monitoring of the health of people with ID in EU member states and, as a consequence, a set of health indicators specific to people with ID was proposed that could lead to such systemic monitoring.