engleski

Dementia and quality of life of persons with Down syndrom and persons with intellectual disabilities of other etiology

Objectives: Down syndrome (DS) is the most commonly recognized genetic cause of intellectual disability (ID). As life expectancy of persons with DS increases, the incidence of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's type, is growing. The prevalence of dementia in persons with DS increases with age and reaches 75% in persons over 65 years. The objectives of this study are: 1) determine if there is higher incidence of dementia in adults with Down syndrome than in adults with ID of other etiology, 2) determine if there is a connection between the onset of dementia and the quality of life in persons with Down syndrome and persons with ID of other etiology. Methods: The study was conducted on two samples: sample of adults with ID (older than 30 years) with DS and sample of adults with ID (older than 30 years) of other etiology. Samples are matched by age, gender, setting and level of intellectual disability. We applied the following instruments: DSQIID ‐ Dementia screening questionnaire for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and Assessment of objective indicators of quality of life of people with ID. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods will be used for data analysis. Results and Conclusions: This is the pilot study which is still carried out. We assume that results will shed out light on importance of active social role and better quality of life on incidence of dementia not only in persons with DS, but also in persons with ID of other etiology. References: Deb S, Hare M, Prior L, Bhaumik S. Dementia screening questionnaire for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Br J Psychiatry. 2007 May ; 190:440‐4 ; Bratkovic D., Quality of life of adults with mental retardation/Kvaliteta života osoba s posebnim potrebama: zbornik radova 4. međunarodnog seminara / Đurek, Vesna (ed). ‐ Zagreb: Savez defektologa Hrvatske, 2002. 141‐ 150.

dementia ; quality of life ; intellectual disabilities

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