Article

Our aim was to study the feasibility of creating a framework for monitoring
and undertaking collaborative research on intellectual disability at the European
level, based on existing databases of children with such disability. METHOD: The
characteristics of five existing European intellectual disability databases from
four countries (Iceland, Latvia, Ireland, and two in France), were discussed on
the basis of ideal criteria set by a working group on childhood intellectual
disability as part of the Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe Network
(SCPE-NET). Mean prevalence values for severe intellectual disability for the
birth years 1990 till 2002 were compared across databases. RESULTS: Methods of
case recruitment and diagnosis differed across databases, but classification of
intellectual disability and completeness were similar. Severe intellectual
disability (IQ<50) prevalence estimates were significantly (p<0.001) different
across databases (south-east France: 3.3 out of 1000; south-west France: 3.0 out
of 1000; Latvia: 3.9 out of 1000; Ireland: 5.0 out of 1000; and Iceland 5.1 out
of 1000). INTERPRETATION: In spite of differences in diagnosis and case inclusion
across databases, the construction of a common database for severe intellectual
disability was deemed feasible through harmonization of certain criteria, such as
age, and through restriction to those with severe intellectual disability.
CI - (c) 2013 Mac Keith Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS