Healthy helping

October 2004

Monash researchers are investigating why people with a developmental disability are more likely than the rest of the community to suffer from a host of medical conditions. Allison Harding reports.

Depression, diabetes, obesity, allergies, dental problems and urinary tract infections are all medical conditions common among people with developmental disabilities.

Helping the community: Researchers Dr Teresa Iacono and Dr David Hamilton Photo: Greg Ford

But despite the increased likelihood of that group of people suffering from such conditions, there is no matching increase in their use of health services - and researchers at Monash University's Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria want to find out why.

"We know from research that people with developmental disabilities tend to die at a younger age than the rest of the community and are more likely to suffer a range of different conditions and illnesses," research fellow Dr David Hamilton says. "And a real concern is that some of these conditions are not only treatable but also preventable."

Improving health outcomes for people with developmental disabilities through community education, research and clinical activities is the main goal of the centre, which forms part of the Department of General Practice.

Among its other roles, the centre educates medical students at Monash and the University of Melbourne and provides postgraduate training for doctors and other health professionals.

Centre researchers are undertaking a study, titled 'Living Well', which is tracking a group of adults with intellectual disabilities to assess their health status and access to health services. The project aims to identify how often people with developmental disabilities use health-screening services and gain an understanding of their overall health experiences.

And the results so far have revealed some worrying trends.

Over the two survey years - 2001 and 2003 - none of the women in the study had had pap smears, breast examinations or mammograms, while less than 5 per cent of the participants (both men and women) had been tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

Only about half the group had had blood pressure checks in the survey years, and only about a quarter had undergone cholesterol and blood sugar screening. This was despite more than 70 per cent of the group having weight problems and being generally unfit.

Other survey results are prompting new questions for the researchers - such as why people in staff-supported accommodation visit their general practitioner and undergo health screening more often than those living in the family or foster home.

Research director Dr Teresa Iacono says general practitioners are increasingly finding themselves the sole medical carers of people who have been moved out of institutions into supported suburban or regional communities.

"Often the local general practitioners find themselves looking after such patients without appropriate training or knowledge - and without any appropriate handover from the institution," Dr Iacono says.

"We feel that if doctors had more advice and support during the process, perhaps they would be more inclined to investigate symptoms or complaints rather than attributing them to the person's disability."

The research team says the next phase of the project is to conduct more detailed examinations of the health and well-being problems in people with particular types of disabilities.

"Some may be at increased risk of developing certain conditions or could have more difficulty than others in receiving a correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment," Dr Hamilton says.

Action
To find out more about the work of the centre, visit the Centre for Developmental Disability Health, Victoria, or contact +61 3 9564 7511.