The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the world has increased dramatically in the recent decades. However, data at the national level are limited, and geographic differences are seldom evaluated. According to the law, the local governments in Taiwan began to certify disabled residents and provide various services in 1980, and the…

Intellectual disability (ID) is not uncommon in children, but data at the national level are limited, especially those on geographic differences. On the basis of the Disabled Welfare Law, Taiwan began to certify disabled residents and provide various services in 1980. All the cases are registered, and the registry provides a rare opportunity for…

The purposes of the present study were to describe the longitudinal utilization rates of participation in early intervention services of children with developmental delays, and to examine the geographical difference of services in this vulnerable population. We analyzed service utilization of the developmentally delayed children based on data of…

This paper aims to describe a general demographic picture of patients with rare diseases in Taiwan and particularly focuses on the prevalence of rare diseases over time, age and gender distributions. We analyzed data mainly from the national disability registry from 2002 to 2011 in Taiwan, Republic of China. The results showed that the number of…

The purposes of this study were to measure disparities of age structure between people with an intellectual disability and general population, and to explore the difference of demographic characteristics between these two populations by using data from a population based register in Taiwan. Data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 statistical software.…

Background: Although there is no strict definition of frailty, it is generally accepted as a state of high vulnerability for adverse health outcomes at older age. Associations between frailty and mortality, dependence, and hospitalization have been shown. We measured the frailty level of older people with intellectual disabilities (ID).…

This study examines the prevalence of overweight and obesity and a panel of potential determinants among French youths and adults with an intellectual disability (ID). The sample used consisted of 1120 youths and adults with an ID, from 5 to 28 years old, attending a French special education school. The results indicated that 19.8% of the…

The aims of this study were to explore the mean and distribution of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and to examine the influence of gender, body weight and health behaviors on hypertension in adults with disabilities. We analyzed the 2010 annual community health examination chart of adults with disabilities in east Taiwan. The study samples…

Taiwan has provided free health checks for adults since 1995. However, very little previous research has explored the use of preventive health services by physically and mentally disabled adults. The present study aimed to understand this use of preventive health services and the factors that influence it. Research participants included disabled…

Total and chronic food refusal (i.e., the refusal of all types of food during a prolonged period) in young children with developmental disabilities can be treated effectively using a combination of environmental interventions. However, no guidelines for the selection of food items to offer the child in these interventions are available. The aim of…

The goal of this study was to determine the progression of manual dexterity during 6 weeks (54 h) (modified) constraint-induced movement therapy ((m)CIMT) followed by 2 weeks (18 h) bimanual training (BiT) in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (CP), to establish whether and when a maximal training effect was reached and which factors…

The Children's Hand-Skill ability Questionnaire (CHSQ) is a new parent-report questionnaire that assesses children's manual ability in three domains: leisure and play, school/education, and activities of daily living. The CHSQ can be used with children presenting with a range of disabilities and works as a companion assessment before detailed…

As the life expectancy of people with intellectual disability (ID) increases, it is becoming necessary to understand factors affecting survival. However, predictors that are typically assessed among healthy people have not been examined. Predictors of all-cause mortality, including blood, urine, anthropometry, and nutritional indices, were…

Overweight and obesity are major health problems associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, which is not sufficiently studied in people with intellectual disability yet. The present study was part of the Healthy Ageing in Intellectual Disability (HA-ID) study. The aim of this study was to establish (1) the prevalence of overweight,…

Metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent in society gradually and has important implications for public health in recent years. The present study aims to examine the gender effect on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among adults with disabilities. A cross-sectional study was conduct to analyze annual health check-up chart of 419 people with…