Four times more Covid deaths in people with intellectual disabilities

The Covid-19 mortality rate among people with an intellectual disability was over four times higher than the general population. This was especially the case when looking at members of the population of a younger age, according to research from scientists at the Department of Primary and Community Care at the Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen. The study focused on all recorded deaths in the Netherlands from the beginning of 2015 through the end of 2021, and was published by The Lancet Public Health this week.

"In the two coronavirus years, at least 785 people with an intellectual disability died from Covid, more than 600 more than would be expected based on mortality in the general population," wrote Maarten Cuypers, one of the researchers. The expectation would have been that between 166 and 178 people with an intellectual disability would have died due to Covid-19, data in the study showed.

"We also saw that mortality from cancer, brain and nervous system disorders and from external causes (such as a fall) increased more among people with intellectual disabilities than in the rest of the population. This is an indication that the existing health disparities between people with and without intellectual disabilities increased further during the pandemic," Cuypers continued.

"Few targeted measures have also been taken to protect this group."

Cuypers also drew attention to the increased vulnerability that those with an intellectual disability faced, because "within institutions and residential groups there is an increased risk of contamination due to the many close contacts." Additionally, it was often harder for them to comply with the basic rules regarding social distancing, hygiene, and ventilation, and those in poorer general health also faced added risk of developing serious symptoms of Covid-19.

The researchers called on health practitioners and policymakers to pay better attention towards protecting those who are more vulnerable in society, and developing better capabilities for keeping an eye on how risk groups are affected during a crisis. "Although monitoring COVID-19-related mortality is part of public health surveillance in the Netherlands and many other countries, the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on people with intellectual disabilities only became visible after we added data afterwards," Cuypers said.