Landes Describes Progress in Closing the Age-at-Death Disparity for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Finding

Intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) directly impact the course of an individual’s life, including the age at which they die. Research indicates that the age-at-death disparity between adults with IDD and those without IDD was reduced substantially from the 1950s through the late 1990s. We used data from U.S. death certificates to determine whether there has been a continued reduction in the age-at-death disparity between adults with and without different types of IDD. As illustrated in the figure below, from 2005 to 2017, the mean age-at-death disparity decreased between adults with and without various disabilities: 2.2 years for intellectual disability; 1.9 years for Down syndrome; 2.7 years for cerebral palsy; and 5.1 for rare developmental disabilities. Although large gaps remain, this progress is promising.

Read more in the Syracuse Research Brief, Progress in Closing the Age-at-Death Disparity for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

About the Author
Scott Landes is an Associate Professor of Sociology, a Faculty Associate in the Aging Studies Institute, and a Lerner Research Affiliate in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Researchers:

Scott D. Landes

Related Resources

Progress in Closing the Age-at-Death Disparity for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities