Peripheral bone density measurement: An interdisciplinary initiative for improving health outcomes for people with learning disabilities

Challenges exist in respect of people with intellectual disabilities who, with the increasing life expectancy, have a growing risk of age-related degenerative conditions. Changes in bone health are associated with increasing age and the bone health of people who have intellectual disabilities is well documented in the literature as being poor in comparison to the general population. A heel scan clinic was set up in an intellectual disability service as a service improvement initiative. There were 12 females and 17 males scanned using a heel scanner. Only 3 (10.3%) people with intellectual disabilities were in the normal bone mineral density (BMD) range. Peripheral BMD screening for people has been shown to provide important information about the bone health of people with intellectual disabilities which has prompted further treatment by general practitioners and has the potential to provide an accessible way to obtain information on the bone health of people with intellectual disabilities.