Suchergebnisse

AbstractBackgroundAcross the world, frailty is part of the guidelines that are being developed in the COVID‐19 pandemic for triaging in crisis situations. The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) evaluates the ability to perform daily tasks to identify frail individuals, potentially excluding those from intensive care (IC) treatment. Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) experience varying degrees of dependence, distinct from age‐related physical deterioration. Using the CFS for triage in crisis situations could potentially unjustifiably exclude individuals with ID from IC treatment. Our objective was to compare the classification of individuals with ID into different frailty categories based on the CFS and the well‐studied ID‐frailty index and to determine suitability of CFS for evaluation of frailty in individuals with ID during the COVID‐19 pandemic.MethodsThis retrospective analysis of the observational healthy aging and intellectual disabilities (HA‐ID) study included 982 individuals with ID of ≥50 years, who were classified according to the CFS and the ID‐frailty index.ResultsOf the cohort of 982 older adults with ID, 626 (63.7%) would be classified as moderately frail (CFS score 6), but 92% of this group is not moderately frail according to the ID‐frailty index. Furthermore, 199 (20.3%) would be classified as at least severely frail (CFS score 7–9), but 74.9% of this group is not severely frail according to the ID‐frailty index. Overall, 730 out of 982 (74.9%) individuals would be incorrectly classified by the CFS as too frail to have a good probability of survival. The ID‐frailty index predicts mortality better than the CFS in individuals with ID.ConclusionsOur results show the CFS is not suitable to evaluate frailty in individuals with ID, with potential dramatic consequences for triage and decision‐making during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We strongly recommend using the ID‐frailty index when assessing probability of survival for individuals with ID.

AbstractBackgroundAlthough a large number of adults with intellectual disabilities have depressive symptoms, non‐pharmacological treatments are scarce. The present authors investigated whether bright light therapy (BLT) is effective in decreasing depressive symptoms compared to care as usual.MethodsThis multicentre randomized controlled trial consisted of three study groups (10,000 lux BLT, dim light BLT and a no‐BLT group). Participants received BLT for 30 min in the morning (14 consecutive days), additional to their regular care. Primary outcome was as follows: depressive symptoms measured with the ADAMS Depressive Mood subscale 1 week after the end of BLT (same time period in the no‐BLT group).ResultsForty‐one participants were included in our trial. In both BLT groups, a significant decrease in depressive symptoms was seen. No significant differences were found between 10,000 lux BLT and no‐BLT (p = .199) and no significant differences between dim light BLT and no‐BLT (p = .451). A minimum amount of side effects and no adverse events were reported.ConclusionsIn both BLT interventions, a decrease in depressive symptoms was seen. With 10,000 lux BLT, depressive symptoms decreased even below the clinical cut‐off point, which makes BLT a promising intervention for clinical practice.

AbstractBackgroundWe investigated the prevalence of swallowing difficulties and associated factors in people with intellectual disability.MethodsWe included people aged 50+ receiving care for people with intellectual disabilities. The Dysphagia Disorder Survey (DDS) was used to assess swallowing difficulties. We determined the agreement between the DDS and swallowing difficulties in medical records. We used logistic regression analyses to explore associated factors.ResultsOne thousand and fifty people were included. The prevalence of swallowing difficulties was 43.8%. Swallowing difficulties were not reported in the medical records of 83.3% of these cases. Frailty (odds ratio (OR) = 4.22, 95% CI = 2.05–8.71), mobility impairment (OR = 2.50, 95% CI = 1.01–6.19), and mealtime dependency (OR = 3.05, 95% CI = 1.10–8.47) were independently associated with swallowing difficulties.ConclusionSwallowing difficulties are prevalent in older people with intellectual disability but may be under‐recognised. Frailty may be a good indicator for population‐based screening for swallowing difficulties.

AbstractBackgroundReliable and valid screening instruments for depression and anxiety are needed for adults with intellectual disabilities.MethodsInternal consistency (n = 198), inter‐rater reliability (n = 41), test–retest reliability (n = 37) and criterion validity (n = 43) were studied in adults aged between 18 and 49 years. Internal consistency was also studied in a sample with epilepsy (n = 98).ResultsInternal consistencies of the Dutch ADAMS total scale and subscales were satisfactory to good (α = 0.76–0.92), as well as in the subgroup with epilepsy (α = 0.74–0.88). Inter‐rater reliability and test–retest reliability were fair to excellent for the total scale (ICC's: 0.57–0.84) and subscales (ICC's: 0.43–0.86). The criterion validity of the Dutch ADAMS Depressive Mood subscale was good with a sensitivity of 88% (95% CI: 53%–98%) and a specificity of 80% (95% CI: 64%–90%).ConclusionsOur study shows that the Dutch ADAMS is a reliable and valid instrument for adults aged between 18 and 49 years with intellectual disabilities (and comorbid epilepsy).

AbstractBackgroundDepressive symptoms and stress are common in adults with intellectual disabilities. Our aim was to explore long‐term biological stress levels, assessed by hair cortisol (HairF) and cortisone (HairE) concentrations, in adults with intellectual disabilities and depressive symptoms and to investigate the effects of bright light therapy (BLT) on hair glucocorticoids.MethodScalp hair samples (n = 14) were retrospectively examined at baseline and post‐BLT (10.000 and 300 lux). Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure hair glucocorticoids.ResultsA significant correlation was found between baseline HairF and depression scores (r = .605, p = .028). Post‐intervention HairE levels were significantly increased ([95% CI: 11.2–17.4 pg/mg], p = .003), in particular after dim light (300 lux) ([95% CI: 10.0–18.3 pg/mg], p = .020).ConclusionsThis study showed that retrospectively examining biological levels of stress in adults with intellectual disabilities seems a potentially promising and objective method to gain insight in the stress level of adults with intellectual disabilities.