Covid-19 patterns among adults with intellectual and developmental disability and the general population in New York state during the first year of the pandemic

Margaret K Formica; Ryan Cox; Joshua Christiana; Margaret A Turk; Scott D Landes

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101623

Covid-19 patterns among adults with intellectual and developmental disability and the general population in New York state during the first year of the pandemic

Disabil Health J. 2024 Apr 9:101623. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101623. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Margaret K Formica¹, Ryan Cox², Joshua Christiana³, Margaret A Turk⁴, Scott D Landes⁵

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Public Health & Preventive Medicine and Urology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA.
² New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), Albany, NY, 12229, USA.
³ CHC, CHSP, The Arc New York, Latham, NY, 12110, USA.
⁴ Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA. Electronic address: turkm@upstate.edu.
⁵ Department of Sociology and Aging Studies Institute, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA. Electronic address: sdlandes@syr.edu.

PMID: 38631971
DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101623

Abstract

Background: People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the US, especially those living in group homes, experienced comparatively higher Covid-19 case/case fatality rates than the general population during the first year of the pandemic. There is no information about the patterns of case/case fatality rates during this time.

Objective: This study compared Covid-19 case/case fatality rates among people with IDD living in residential group homes to the general population across the first year of the pandemic in New York State (NYS).

Methods: Covid-19 positive cases and deaths collected from New York Disability Advocates (NYDA), a coalition of organizations serving individuals with IDD, was compared to data for the NYS general population from the first pandemic year. Case rates/100,000 and case fatality rates were calculated for the study period. Joinpoint Trend Analysis Software was used to analyze patterns in weekly case/case fatality rates.

Results: Case fatality rates for people with IDD were higher than for the overall state population throughout the pandemic's first year. Case rates were higher among people with IDD across most of this year. Although the patterns in rates were similar, there was a sharp increase in cases for those with IDD during Fall 2020 beginning eight weeks before the general NYS population and a significant decrease in fatalities in late December 2020 into January 2021.

Conclusions: Consistently higher case fatality rates and significant differences in case/case fatality rates for people with IDD living in group homes require further consideration. Planning for future emergencies will require an enhanced federal/state understanding of the needs of people with IDD and a responsive surveillance system.

Keywords: Case rate; Case-fatality rate; Covid-19; Intellectual and developmental disability; Policy.