Adults with developmental disabilities or cerebral palsy face earlier fall injury risks

Background: Falls are a common cause of injury, especially for adults over age 65. But adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities or cerebral palsy may also be at higher risk. Researchers analyzed more than 35.8 million emergency department visits across 21 states using 2019 emergency department data to compare fall-related emergency department visits and age-related trends among adults with and without intellectual and/or developmental disability or cerebral palsy. 

What they found: Adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and/or cerebral palsy were more likely to visit the emergency department because of a fall injury than adults without intellectual and/or developmental disabilities or cerebral palsy. Among adults with no developmental disabilities, 7.3% of emergency department visits at ages 62-65 years were due to falls. Similar rates were seen in middle age for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (42-45 years) or cerebral palsy (34-41 years), indicating earlier risk. 

Implications: The findings suggest that clinicians should consider screening these patient populations for fall risk as early as ages 34-45 years.