Positive Cardiometabolic Health For People With Intellectual Disabilities: An Early Intervention Framework

Past project
Positive Cardiometabolic Health For People With Intellectual Disabilities Group

People with an intellectual disability experience reduced life expectancy and an excessive morbidity burden compared to other Australians. Poor cardiometabolic health is one key area of inequality, including high rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Factors that may make some people with intellectual disability more vulnerable to cardiometabolic ill-heath than the general population include: excessive psychotropic prescription and psychotropic polypharmacy; lower physical activity levels; unequal access to quality healthcare; pre-disposing genetic syndromes; and social exclusion and economic disadvantage. Positive and preventative interventions are needed to address excessive cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality in this population.

In collaboration with the authors of a previously published generalist cardiometabolic monitoring algorithm, “Positive cardiometabolic health: an early intervention framework for patients on psychotropic medication” (Curtis, Newall et al. 2011) we developed a guideline to meet the specific needs and risk profiles of people with intellectual disability.

This project was phase one of a larger study investigating responsible psychotropic prescription in people with intellectual disability.

Please click here to access the framework.

Components of this project included

  • Reviewing the literature relating to cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality in children, youth and adults with intellectual disability
  • Adapting a generalist early intervention guideline to proactively manage the cardiometabolic health of people with an intellectual disability
  • Developing an accompanying website of positive cardiometabolic resources suitable for clinicians, formal and informal carers and people with an intellectual disability
  • Broadly distributing the toolkit of cardiometabolic resources via conferences, forums and publications
Related People
Chair of Intellectual Disability Mental Health, and Head, Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry
UNSW Medicine, School of Psychiatry, Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry (3DN)
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