What is it about?
In this study, we examined data from more than 33 million emergency department visits across the U.S. in calendar year 2019. We examined rates of psychiatric and neurologic diagnoses in encounters that involved adults who live with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs. We then compared these patterns to what we found in the full population of U.S. emergency department patients in that same year. Patients with IDDs were 3.6 times more likely than others to have a mental health condition as the principal visit diagnosis, 3.1 times as likely to have a principal diagnosis of suicidality, seven times as likely to have a principal diagnoses of neurological disorders, and 9.8 times as likely to have principal diagnoses of seizure disorders. Our most striking findings concerned the high rates of dementia among patients with Down syndrome. Indicated dementias among patients with Down syndrome between the ages 45 and 49 were more common than was observed in ED encounters in the broader population over age 70. More than one-third of ED visits among patients with Down syndrome ages 55-64 include dementia indications.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Public conversation and policy discussions regarding persons with IDDs frequently focus on children, adolescents, and young adults, with the richest array of services being available to students attending public schools. Adults with IDDs, including older adults, receive less attention at times leading policy makers and the public to overlook distinctive IDD-related challenges in adult services and care. The high rate of early-onset dementia among persons with Down syndrome ranks among the most poignant of these challenges. Our findings underscore the need to provide comprehensive care at every life stage for individuals who live with IDDs. Our concluding section cites policies and interventions that help to address these challenges.
Perspectives
As caregivers, clinical providers, and policy analysts concerned for persons who live with intellectual disabilities, we on the research team were gratified to see these important issues prominently published in PS. The lifecycle needs of persons with IDDs and their caregiver are often overlooked, once persons with IDD age past early adulthood.
Harold Pollack
University of Chicago
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Neuropsychiatric Disorders Among Adult Emergency Department Patients With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Psychiatric Services, November 2025, American Psychiatric Association,
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.20240604.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
