Background: To examine the type, frequency, severity, and predictors of anemia and its relationship with co-morbid conditions among institutionalized people with intellectual and/or motor disability.
SummaryPreviously, we reported that males with mental retardation (MR) (MR group) expended more energy than males without MR (control group) at a given work load. The precise physiological mechanisms for this difference remain unclear. Using the same set of subjects (23 age-, height-, and weight-matched male pairs, mean age: 36.3y), we examined possible causes for the observed metabolic difference by monitoring physical movements and evaluating the metabolic capability of the skeletal muscles. In the supine position when no body movements were detected for any subjects, oxygen consumption (VO2) and heart rate (HR) were not markedly different between the MR and the control groups. By contrast, in the sitting and standing positions and during walking at 30 and 50m/min, when signi fi cantly larger body movements were monitored in the MR group, VO2 and HR were signi fi cantly higher in this group than in the control group. Linear regression analyses, performed separately in the MR and control groups, revealed that the slope of the regression line of HR on relative exercise intensity (%VO2max) during walking, that of VO2 on walking speeds, and that of VO2 on the number of steps in the MR group were almost identical with those in the control group. These results suggest that the capability of skeletal muscles was not so dif ferent between the two groups. Thus, the high energy expenditure in the MR group was suggested to be a result of excessive body movements rather than an intrinsic incapability of skeletal muscles.
The serum albumin level is a widely accepted indicator of nutritional status in healthy adults and elderly individuals. However, there are few data regarding the distribution and correlates of serum albumin levels in individuals with intellectual and/or motor disabilities. We conducted a crosssectional study at a public facility for individuals with intellectual and/or motor disabilities in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. Health check-up data obtained in 2001 from 477 individuals with intellectual disability (286 males, average age 40·6 (SD 12·3) years; 191 females, average age 45·1 (SD 11·6) years) were retrospectively reviewed. With the exception of men with cerebral palsy, the serum albumin level was nearly normally distributed. The mean was 44 (SD 3·6) g/l for males and 44 (SD 3·6) g/l for females with intellectual disability, 43 (SD 3·2) g/l in males and 44 (SD 2·6) g/l for females with cerebral palsy, 41 (SD 2·7) g/l for males and 42 (SD 3·7) g/l for females with Down's syndrome, and 42 (SD 4·5) g/l for males and 41 (SD 3·2) g/l for females with severe motor and intellectual disabilities. Only six of 474 individuals (1·3 %) had a serum albumin # 35 g/l. Low serum albumin was related to age, use of anticonvulsants and/or major tranquilisers, use of other medications, high C-reactive protein (CRP), high zinc sulfate turbidity test (ZTT), low serum Hb and low serum Fe among men; among women, high CRP and high ZTT were related to low serum albumin. The present study found an unexpectedly low incidence of low serum albumin among institutionalised individuals with intellectual and/or motor disabilities. Low serum albumin was associated with age, medications and inflammation in men, as well as inflammation in women.
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