兔子先生

People with learning disabilities are at greater risk of dying earlier than the general population. However, there are specific factors which increase the risk. Data from GP records in June 2022 identifies the following.

Deprivation

The 2022 LeDeR report identified that 25% of people with a learning disability, who died, lived in the most deprived areas. [9] Regionally, people with a learning disability are more likely to live in areas that are classed as being in the 20% most deprived in the country (IMD Quintile 1) [10]. Nearly 50% of adults with a learning disability live in IMD Quintile 1.

Employment

Only 3.2% of people with a learning disability are in employment [10]. In addition, a third of people with a learning disability are unemployed or actively seeking work. A larger proportion of people with a learning disability and autism are in education or training, compared to people with a learning disability only. This may be because autistic people are tending to be younger than the learning disabilities population as a whole [10]. The benefits of being in paid employment include increased income and improved wellbeing. There is a direct correlation between unemployment and adverse outcomes generally, not just in relation to socio-economic considerations, but in relation to other outcomes such as health and wellbeing [11]. 

Obesity

Nearly 80% of people with a learning disability in the North East and North Cumbria who are aged 18 and over have had their BMI recorded. Of the people with a recorded BMI, 45% of adults with a learning disability only are obese [10]. 

For the general population, being overweight is associated with an increased risk of [12]:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Some cancers
• Stigma and bullying in childhood
• Poor mental health in adulthood

Nationally, data on people with learning disabilities from primary care data shows that people with learning disabilities have higher rates of conditions associated with being overweight, such as diabetes, heart failure and strokes [12]. The most prevalent comorbidities for people with learning disabilities regionally are identified in the tables below.

Comorbidities

Regionally, people with a learning disability only are more likely to have the following than the general population [10]:

• Asthma (11 in every 100 adults)
• Diabetes (11 in every 100 adults)
• Epilepsy (17 in every 100 adults)
• Depression (14 in every 100 adults)

In addition, people with a learning disability and / or autism are more likely to have anxiety disorder than the general population. That is 22 in every 100 adults [10].

National data from the 2022 LeDeR report identified that epilepsy was the long-term condition that was most strongly associated with dying at a younger age, with 37% of the deaths reported having epilepsy as a long-term health condition [9].