Who counts depends on who is counted: an investigation into excess mortality among people with intellectual disabilities in 2020-2021

People with intellectual disabilities have been proportionally more affected by the COVID pandemic than the general population. In 2020 and 2021, at least 785 people with intellectual disabilities died from COVID, while 180 deaths were expected based on the size and age structure of this group. In addition, mortality from other causes also increased more than in the rest of the population. Data from general practitioners showed that deaths in this group were more often due to a chronic disease, but that this was not a complete explanation for the higher mortality in this group. Intellectual disability also remained an independent risk factor for death. This indicates that health problems of people with intellectual disabilities are complex. There is still no complete insight into the actual number of infections in this target group and therefore the knowledge is still incomplete to reduce risks in the future.