Study Reveals People with Severe Intellectual Disabilities Die 24 Years Younger on Average, with High Rate of Avoidable Deaths
A recent study conducted by researchers from King’s College London has found that individuals with severe intellectual disabilities die, on average, 24 years younger than the general population. The study analyzed data from 1,301 adults with severe or profound intellectual disabilities who died in England between 2021 and 2023, comparing them to individuals with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities and the general population. The average age of death for those with severe intellectual disabilities was 58, compared to 82 for the general population. A significant finding was that two in five (40%) of these deaths were deemed avoidable, meaning they occurred before the age of 75 due to preventable or treatable causes. The leading avoidable causes of death identified were pneumonia and epilepsy, followed by cerebrovascular disease. Furthermore, the study highlighted stark ethnic disparities, with individuals from Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic backgrounds with severe intellectual disabilities dy... 
