Comparison of anxiety as reported by older people with intellectual disabilities and by older people with normal intelligence

Objectives Older people with intellectual disabilities (ID) may experience more and different symptoms of anxiety than older people with normal intelligence. Study questions: (1) Is the reported severity of anxiety in this group similar to that in the general older population; (2) Are specific anxiety symptoms reported as frequently by both groups? Design Cross-sectional. Setting Formal Dutch intellectual disability services and Dutch population-based study. Participants One hundred fifty-four participants of the Healthy Ageing and Intellectual Disability study with mild or moderate ID (IQ <70), aged 55-85 years, and 2,917 participants of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam with normal intelligence, aged 55-85 years. Measurements The general anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results Mean (standard deviation) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale total score of subjects with ID was significantly higher than that of subjects with normal intelligence (3.53 [3.03]) versus 2.53 [3.30]; p <0.01), whereas the percentage of scores above cutoff in both groups was similar. Four of 7 items were more often reported as present by subjects with ID: "tense or wound up feelings," "frightened feelings," "worrying thoughts," and "sudden feelings of panic." Conclusions Older people with ID report more symptoms of anxiety than older people with normal intelligence. Tense feelings and worrying especially need more attention, because more than one-half of all older people with ID reported such symptoms.