The self-rated health of British adults with intellectual disability

People with intellectual disability have significantly higher age-adjusted rates of mortality and morbidity than their non-disabled peers. While self-rated health status is commonly used as an indicator of the health status of populations of interest, few studies have explored the self-rated health of adults with intellectual disability. We undertook secondary analysis of de-identified cross-sectional data from the first waves of two contemporary UK surveys: the Life Opportunities Survey (n=37,513) and Understanding Society (n=50,976). In the Life Opportunities Survey we identified 316 participants age 16-49 (1.7% of the age-restricted sample) as having intellectual disability. In Understanding Society we identified 415 participants age 16-49 (1.5% of the age-restricted sample) as having intellectual disability. Participants with intellectual disability were significantly more likely to report having fair or worse health than their peers (Life Opportunities Survey OR=8.86 (6.54-12.01),