Robert G. Zylstra

Prevalence of osteoporosis in community-dwelling individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

OBJECTIVE Measure central bone mineral density (BMD) in community-dwelling individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. DESIGN A cross-sectional study. SETTING A regional center providing outpatient medical, residential, and day activity services for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. PARTICIPANTS Documented BMD results were obtained for 298 community-dwelling individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. MEASUREMENTS BMD by central dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) on the participants spine, converted into T-scores categories using CDC guidelines (T < or = -2.5 [osteoporotic]; -2.5 > T < -1.0 [osteopenic]; > or = -1.0 [normal]). Comparisons were made using multiple regression to determine significant independent risk factors for low BMD. RESULTS Significant predictors were noted in the rates of osteoporosis attributable to subject age, race, and level of ambulation. No gender differences were noted for the rate of osteoporosis in this community sample of individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, nor were any differences noted for varying levels of mental retardation. Diagnostic differences were significant only for those individuals with a diagnosis of metabolic error, who had a significantly lower rate of osteoporosis than the rest of the study population. CONCLUSION This studys findings regarding age, race, and level of ambulation are consistent with those of previous studies using an intellectually and/or developmentally disabled population as well as the general population at large. Our finding that the rate of osteoporosis among disabled males is higher than for males in the general population suggests a possible case-finding deficit for asymptomatic males in the general population. It is also interesting that the only diagnostic category observed to be statistically different from the group in general was metabolic error, a finding that warrants further investigation.

Public Knowledge of Late-Life Depression and Aging

Depression among the elderly is a common, treatable condition, yet few individuals older than the age of 65 are treated for this disorder. This study used a sample of 235 adults to assess the general publics knowledge of late-life depression and aging. The data indicated that the sample had little knowledge of aging in general and even less about late-life depression. Racial differences were more prominent than were gender differences. Whites and African Americans did not differ in terms of their knowledge of aging. However, Whites were more knowledgeable of depression than were African Americans. This suggests differences in the social construct of depression in the African American community in comparison with the White community. The relationship between knowledge of aging and knowledge of depression is also discussed.