Citation

Hove O, Biringer E, Havik OE, Assmus J, Braatveit KJ, Holm SEH, Hermann M. Pharmacoepidemiol. Drug Saf. 2019; 28(3): 337-344.

Affiliation

Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Western University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/pds.4741

PMID

30747466

Abstract

PURPOSE: Individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) have more health problems, a poorer general health, and a shorter life expectancy than individuals in general. High rates of drug use in IDs have been reported. Despite the increasing interest in health problems in individuals with IDs, little is known about their drug use.

METHOD: Drug use in a community sample of adults with IDs (N = 593) was compared with dispensed drugs in a time-, age-, and region-matched comparison group of adults in Western Norway (N = 289 325). A logistic regression model was employed by using the main group effect to describe and analyze the differences between the ID sample and the comparison sample and by using the interaction term (group × age) to describe the rate change differences from the reference age (18-30 years) between the two groups.

RESULTS: Total drug use in the ID sample was 62% compared with 50% in the reference sample (P = 0.0001). The high prevalence of drugs for the nervous system (ATC N) in the ID sample (50%) explained the difference. From age 51 and over, the increase in the drug use rate for the cardiovascular disease was significantly lower in the ID sample than in the reference sample (P value range: 0.002-0.019).

CONCLUSIONS: Adults with IDs use more drugs than adults in general. However, the findings showed lower rates of drug use in the ID sample than in the general population for drugs targeting diseases that are the leading causes of death in individuals with IDs.

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

cardiovascular diseases; intellectual disabilities; pharmacoepidemiology; psycholeptics