Avoidable deaths among learning disabled adults almost double of general population

• A new report reveals that while the proportion of avoidable deaths among adults with a learning disability has decreased, it remains almost double that of the general population in the UK.
• The 2023 Learning from Lives and Deaths report (LeDeR) found that 38.8% of deaths among adults with a learning disability were avoidable, compared to 21.6% for the general population.
• Adults with a learning disability died on average 19.5 years younger than the general population in 2023, with their average age at death being 62.5 years.
• The most common causes of avoidable deaths for this group included flu and pneumonia, cancers of the digestive organs, and coronary heart disease.
• The report also highlighted that adults from ethnic minority groups with a learning disability had a younger median age at death than white adults, prompting calls from charities and officials for improved care and data.

IN FULL

Avoidable deaths among learning disabled adults still above general population