Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Clinical Profile of Adults with Intellectual Disability Residing in a Government Residential Facility in Kerala, India

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adults with intellectual disability (AID) experience a higher level of comorbid health conditions. Behavioural problems in AID result in caretaker apathy, institutionalisation and poor community integration. There are relatively few studies addressing the health needs of this population in India. We assessed the sociodemographic and clinical profile of AID residing in a long term residential facility. Data were collected by retrospective chart review and clinical examination. Sociodemographic and clinical profiles of AID were evaluated using descriptive and analytical statistics. Inmates came from various parts of the country. About one fifth of the inmates were brought to the home by legal agencies when they were found wandering in the streets. Among the 98 male inmates, 32.7% had mental illness, 25.5% had seizure disorder, 20.4% had aggression, 43.9% had inappropriate sexual behaviour, 66.3% does activities of daily living (ADL) independently and 95% had poor oral hygiene. Inappropriate sexual behaviour showed statistically significant association with absence of mental illness and absence of seizure disorder. Aggression was found more in AID with mental illness. Seizure disorder did not show any association with aggression or ADL. Mental illness showed associations with seizure disorder and poor activities of daily living. Seizure disorder, mental illness, aggression, inappropriate sexual behaviour, poor oral hygiene and homelessness are common in AID. Adequate management of psychiatric illness may reduce aggression and improve activities of daily living in AID. Interventions to tackle homelessness among AID should be prioritised.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of Data

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  1. Anders PL, Davis EL. Oral health of patients with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review. Spec Care Dentist. 2010;30:110–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. American Psychiatric Publishing. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). Philadelphia: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  3. Bostwick JR, Guthrie SK, Ellingrod VL. Antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia. Pharmacotherapy. 2009;29:64–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Branford D, Bhaumik S, Duncan F. Epilepsy in adults with learning disabilities. Seizure. 1998;7:473–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Brown H, Stein J. Sexual abuse perpetrated by men with intellectual disabilities: a comparative study. J Intellect Disabil Res. 1997;41:215–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Calabrò RS, Marino S, Bramanti P. Sexual and reproductive dysfunction associated with antiepileptic drug use in men with epilepsy. Expert Rev Neurother. 2011;11:887–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Chen H, Cohen P, Chen S. How big is a big odds ratio? Interpreting the magnitudes of odds ratios in epidemiological studies. Commun Stat Simul Comput. 2010;39:860–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Cooper S-A, Smiley E, Allan LM, Jackson A, Finlayson J, Mantry D, Morrison J. Adults with intellectual disabilities: prevalence, incidence and remission of self-injurious behaviour, and related factors. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2009;53:200–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Cooper S-A, Smiley E, Jackson A, Finlayson J, Allan L, Mantry D, Morrison J. Adults with intellectual disabilities: prevalence, incidence and remission of aggressive behaviour and related factors. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2009;53:217–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cooper S-A, Smiley E, Morrison J, Allan L, Williamson A, Finlayson J, Jackson A, Mantry D. Psychosis and adults with intellectual disabilities. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2007;42:530–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Cooper S-A, Smiley E, Morrison J, Williamson A, Allan L. Mental ill-health in adults with intellectual disabilities: prevalence and associated factors. Br J Psychiatry. 2007;190:27–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Cooper S-A, van der Speck R. Epidemiology of mental ill health in adults with intellectual disabilities. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2009;22:431–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Crews WD, Bonaventura S, Rowe F. Dual diagnosis: prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a large state residential facility for individuals with mental retardation. Am J Mental Retard. 1994;98:724–31.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Crocker AG, Mercier C, Lachapelle Y, Brunet A, Morin D, Roy ME. Prevalence and types of aggressive behaviour among adults with intellectual disabilities. J Intellect Disabil Res 2006;50(9):652–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. De Knegt N, Scherder E. Pain in adults with intellectual disabilities. Pain. 2011;152:971–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Deb S, Thomas M, Bright C. Mental disorder in adults with intellectual disability. 2: the rate of behaviour disorders among a community-based population aged between 16 and 64 years. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2001;45:506–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Evenhuis H, Henderson CM, Beange H, Lennox N, Chicoine B. Healthy ageing—adults with intellectual disabilities: physical health issues. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2001;14:175–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Finlayson J, Jackson A, Cooper S-A, Morrison J, Melville C, Smiley E, Allan L, Mantry D. Understanding predictors of low physical activity in adults with intellectual disabilities. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2009;22:236–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Girimaji SC, Srinath S. Perspectives of intellectual disability in India: epidemiology, policy, services for children and adults. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2010;23:441–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Gowda GS, Gopika G, Kumar CN, Manjunatha N, Yadav R, Srinivas D, Dawn BR, Math SB. Clinical outcome and rehabilitation of homeless mentally ill patients admitted in mental health institute of South India:”know the unknown” project. Asian J Psychiatry. 2017;30:49–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Guay DRP. Inappropriate sexual behaviors in cognitively impaired older individuals. Am J Geriatr Pharmacother. 2008;6:269–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Gururaj G, Varghese M, Benegal V, Rao GN, Pathak K, Singh LK, Misra R. National mental health survey of India, 2015–16: summary. Bengaluru: National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Hesdorffer DC, Ishihara L, Mynepalli L, Webb DJ, Weil J, Hauser WA. Epilepsy, suicidality, and psychiatric disorders: a bidirectional association. Ann Neurol. 2012;72:184–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Howard R, Rose J, Levenson V. The psychological impact of violence on staff working with adults with intellectual disabilities. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2009;22:538–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Jones S, Cooper S-A, Smiley E, Allan L, Williamson A, Morrison J. Prevalence of, and factors associated with, problem behaviors in adults with intellectual disabilities. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2008;196:678–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Lockhart K, Guerin S, Shanahan S, Coyle K. Defining “sexualized challenging behavior” in adults with intellectual disabilities. J Policy Pract Intellect Disabil. 2009;6:293–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Matthews T, Weston N, Baxter H, Felce D, Kerr M. A general practice-based prevalence study of epilepsy among adults with intellectual disabilities and of its association with psychiatric disorder, behaviour disturbance and carer stress. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2008;52:163–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. McGrother CW, Bhaumik S, Thorp CF, Hauck A, Branford D, Watson JM. Epilepsy in adults with intellectual disabilities: prevalence, associations and service implications. Seizure. 2006;15:376–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Mills S, Rose J. The relationship between challenging behaviour, burnout and cognitive variables in staff working with people who have intellectual disabilities. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2011;55:844–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Moss S, Emerson E, Kiernan C, Turner S, Hatton C, Alborz A. Psychiatric symptoms in adults with learning disability and challenging behaviour. Br J Psychiatry. 2000;177:452–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Thom RP, Grudzinskas AJ, Saleh FM. Sexual behavior among persons with cognitive impairments. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017;19:25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Tsai S-J, Hwang J-P, Yang C-H, Liu K-M, Lirng J-F. Inappropriate sexual behaviors in dementia: a preliminary report. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 1999;13:60–2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Tsiouris JA, Kim SY, Brown WT, Cohen IL. Association of aggressive behaviours with psychiatric disorders, age, sex and degree of intellectual disability: a large-scale survey. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2011;55:636–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Tyrer F, McGrother CW, Thorp CF, Donaldson M, Bhaumik S, Watson JM, Hollin C. Physical aggression towards others in adults with learning disabilities: prevalence and associated factors. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2006;50:295–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

Funding was provided by Department of Social Justice, Government of Kerala.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

    K. Ravindren Rajith & Jose Kurian

  2. Selvam Rehab Centre, Chennai, India

    Charls Kandarappallil

  3. Composite Regional Centre for Skill Development, Rehabilitation and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

    K. Jithin

Authors
  1. K. Ravindren Rajith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jose Kurian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Charls Kandarappallil
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. K. Jithin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Ravindren Rajith.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rajith, K.R., Kurian, J., Kandarappallil, C. et al. Clinical Profile of Adults with Intellectual Disability Residing in a Government Residential Facility in Kerala, India. J. Psychosoc. Rehabil. Ment. Health 7, 161–167 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-020-00169-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-020-00169-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation