Biomaterial Database

Severe mental handicap in Northern Ireland. 1981

J H Elwood, and P M Darragh

A retrospective study was made of all individuals with severe mental handicap (IQ less than 50) in Northern Ireland who are resident in institutions and in the community. Some 4,701 individuals were ascertained and the annual prevalence rate based on the period 1950-69 was 3.67 per 1,000 live births. Classification of individuals by cause into genetic, environmental and unknown groups shows an increase in the genetic group and a decline in the unknown group. This is thought to be due to increases in medical knowledge rather than to any real biological change. The annual prevalence rates for the years 1950-69 exhibit no definite decline. The most common causes of severe mental handicap are Down syndrome, conditions associated with pregnancy and delivery and the recurrence of severe mental handicap in children born into families who already have one affected person with an IQ less than 40 of unknown aetiology.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007360	Intelligence	The ability to learn and to deal with new situations and to deal effectively with tasks involving abstractions.
D008607	Intellectual Disability	Subnormal intellectual functioning which originates during the developmental period. This has multiple potential etiologies, including genetic defects and perinatal insults. Intelligence quotient (IQ) scores are commonly used to determine whether an individual has an intellectual disability. IQ scores between 70 and 79 are in the borderline range. Scores below 67 are in the disabled range. (from Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1992, Ch55, p28)	Disability, Intellectual,Idiocy,Mental Retardation,Retardation, Mental,Deficiency, Mental,Intellectual Development Disorder,Mental Deficiency,Mental Retardation, Psychosocial,Deficiencies, Mental,Development Disorder, Intellectual,Development Disorders, Intellectual,Disabilities, Intellectual,Disorder, Intellectual Development,Disorders, Intellectual Development,Intellectual Development Disorders,Intellectual Disabilities,Mental Deficiencies,Mental Retardations, Psychosocial,Psychosocial Mental Retardation,Psychosocial Mental Retardations,Retardation, Psychosocial Mental,Retardations, Psychosocial Mental
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009660	Northern Ireland	The northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland - between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea; northwest of France. The capital is Belfast.
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D003430	Cross-Sectional Studies	Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.	Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293	Adolescent	A person 13 to 18 years of age.	Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths