Table 2.
Baseline characteristics of the study population
| Characteristics |
Number of participants
% (95% CI) |
|---|---|
| Sex (n = 677) | |
| Male (n = 297) | 43.9 (40.16–47.64) |
| Female (n = 380) | 56.1 (52.36–59.84) |
| Age (n = 676) | |
| 44–49 years (n = 187) | 27.6 (24.23–30.97) |
| 50–64 years (n = 347) | 51.3 (47.53–55.07) |
| 65 years + (n = 142) | 21.0 (17.93–24.07) |
| Level of ID (n = 624) | |
| Mild (n = 149) | 23.9 (20.55–27.25) |
| Moderate (n = 287) | 44.0 (40.11–47.89) |
| Severe/profound (n = 188) | 30.1 (26.5–33.7) |
| Type of residence (n = 676) | |
| Independent (n = 102) | 15.0 (12.31–17.69) |
| Community group home (n = 298) | 44.1 (40.36–47.84) |
| Residential care (n = 276) | 40.8 (37.1–44.5) |
| Barthel index (n = 635) | |
| Total independence (n = 113) | 17.8 (14.9–21.0) |
| Mild dependence (n = 50) | 7.9 (5.9–10.2) |
| Moderate dependence (n = 274) | 43.1 (39.3–47.1) |
| Severe dependence (n = 112) | 17.6 (14.8–20.8) |
| Total dependence (n = 86) | 13.5 (11.0–16.5) |
| Median (IQR) FCI Score (n = 532) | 3.00 (2.00) |
| Neurological disease (n = 641) | 41.2 (37.3–45.1; n = 264) |
| Depression (n = 673) | 28.4 (25.0–32.0; n = 191) |
| Anxiety (n = 673) | 19.2 (16.3–22.3; n = 129) |
| Daytime dozing (n = 665) | 34.9 (31.3–38.6; n = 232) |
| Chronic constipation (n = 669) | 38.4 (34.7–42.2; n = 257) |
| Fall in previous 12 months (n = 667) | 28.5 (25.07–31.93; n = 190) |
| Behaviours that challenge (n = 677) | 52.0 (48.2–55.8; n = 352) |
| Polypharmacy (n = 677) | |
| No polypharmacy (n = 256) | 37.8 (34.1–41.6) |
| Polypharmacy (n = 258) | 38.1 (34.4–41.9) |
| Excessive polypharmacy (n = 163) | 24.1 (20.9–27.5) |
| Exposure to any medications (n = 677) | 95.1 (93.47–96.73; n = 644) |
| Median (IQR) no. of medications | 6.00 (6.00) |
| Median (IQR) no. of DBI medications | 2.00 (3.00) |
| Median (IQR) no. of non‐DBI medications | 4.00 (5.00) |
| Exposure to DBI medications | |
| Anticholinergic only (n = 347) | 51.3 (47.5–55.1) |
| Sedative only (n = 217) | 32.1 (28.6–35.6) |
| Total (anticholinergic and/or sedative; n = 532) | 78.6 (75.3–81.6) |
| DBI score | |
| 0 (n = 145) | 21.4 (18.31–24.49) |
| 0 > 1 (n = 165) | 24.4 (21.16–27.64) |
| ≥ 1 (n = 367) | 54.2 (50.45–57.95) |
| Median (IQR) DBI score | 1.10 (±1.73) |
| Median (IQR) DBA score | 1.00 (±1.13) |
| Median (IQR) DBS score | 0.69 (±0.79) |
| Range (min–max) | 0–5.47 |
CI, confidence interval; ID, intellectual disabilities; IQR, interquartile range; FCI, functional comorbidity index; DBI, drug burden index; DBA, anticholinergic component of drug burden index; DBS, sedative component of drug burden index.