Health and most frequent diseases in people with mental retardation
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Bernal Celestino RJ. Salud y enfermedades más frecuentes en personas con retraso mental. Metas de Enferm mar 2011; 14(2): 16-22
Authors
Rubén José Bernal Celestino
Position
Enfermero del Complejo Residencial para Personas con discapacidad intelectual Guadiana.
Contact address
C/ Mata, 39-4º B. 13004 Ciudad Real.
Contact email: rjbernal@sescam.jccm.es
Abstract
Mental retardation is a disability characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviour. It is not a disease, but the fact that it presents mental retardation can influence the way in which the health situation of these people is assessed and how possible problems are treated.
The aim of this work was to identify the most frequent diseases in people with intellectual disability in the primary care setting, analyse their possible causes and compare them with the rest of the population.
A bibliographic review was performed in the Cochrane, PubMed, Psycinfo, Cuiden, CUIDATGE and TESEO databases, and information was sought from the websites of the American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR) and the Spanish Federation of Organizations Supporting People with Intellectual Disability (FEAPS).
The review revealed that people with MR are afflicted by the same diseases as the rest of the population, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, diabetes, etc.
The studies agree on the fact that the health problems presented by this population group are due to causes that can be identified and in some cases prevented or treated successfully. To this end, it is necessary to guarantee the access of this group to any diagnostic process on an equal basis as the rest of the population, a situation that has been called into question in some of the reviewed studies.
The aim of this work was to identify the most frequent diseases in people with intellectual disability in the primary care setting, analyse their possible causes and compare them with the rest of the population.
A bibliographic review was performed in the Cochrane, PubMed, Psycinfo, Cuiden, CUIDATGE and TESEO databases, and information was sought from the websites of the American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR) and the Spanish Federation of Organizations Supporting People with Intellectual Disability (FEAPS).
The review revealed that people with MR are afflicted by the same diseases as the rest of the population, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, diabetes, etc.
The studies agree on the fact that the health problems presented by this population group are due to causes that can be identified and in some cases prevented or treated successfully. To this end, it is necessary to guarantee the access of this group to any diagnostic process on an equal basis as the rest of the population, a situation that has been called into question in some of the reviewed studies.
Keywords:
health status; intellectual disability; mental retardation; prevalence of diseasesPrimary Care
Versión en Español
Título:
Salud y enfermedades más frecuentes en personas con retraso mental
