Mental Retardation : Part 2

by CDC

(Page 2 of 2)

It's also important for women with PKU to follow a special diet when they are pregnant. If they do not follow their diets, their babies are very likely to be affected by mental retardation and other birth defects.

Another cause of mental retardation that can be prevented is kernicterus, a kind of brain damage that happens when a newborn baby has too much jaundice. In some newborn babies, the liver makes too much yellow pigment called bilirubin. If too much bilirubin builds up in a new baby's body, the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow. This yellow coloring is called jaundice. A little jaundice is not a problem. It is actually very common in newborn babies and usually goes away by itself. Some babies, however, have too much jaundice. If not treated, these high levels of bilirubin can damage a baby's brain. Kernicterus most often causes cerebral palsy and hearing loss, but in some children it can also cause mental retardation. Kernicterus can be prevented by using special lights (phototherapy) or other therapies to treat babies.

What is the cost or economic impact associated with mental retardation?

Many people with mental retardation need long-term services or care. The average lifetime cost for one person with mental retardation is estimated to be $1,014,000 (in 2003 dollars). This represents costs over and above those experienced by a person who does not have a disability.

It is estimated that the lifetime costs for all people with mental retardation who were born in 2000 will total $51.2 billion (in 2003 dollars). These costs include both direct and indirect costs. Direct medical costs, such as doctor visits, prescription drugs, and inpatient hospital stays, make up 14% of these costs. Direct nonmedical expenses, such as home modifications and special education, make up 10% of the costs. Indirect costs, which include the value of lost wages when a person dies early, cannot work, or is limited in the amount or type of work he or she can do, make up 76% of the costs.

These estimates do not include other expenses, such as hospital outpatient visits, emergency department visits, residential care, and family out-of-pocket expenses. The actual economic costs of mental retardation are, therefore, even higher than what is reported here.

Where can I go to learn more about mental retardation?

National Information Center on Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY)

NICHCY provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, teachers, and other professionals. NICHCY has a fact sheet about mental retardation that includes general information on topics such as diagnosis and causes as well as tips for parents and teachers.

MEDLINEplus: Developmental Disabilities

MEDLINEplus is an online service of the National Library of Medicine. MEDLINEplus is designed to link you to information on specific health topics, including developmental disabilities. Information about mental retardation is included on the Developmental Disabilities page. MEDLINEplus brings together information from many sources and is updated every day. This page includes information on the latest news, general overviews, clinical trials, coping, diagnosis and symptoms, research, specific conditions, law and policy, organizations, children, seniors. Some materials are in Spanish.

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) Publications

NCBDDD staff have written many scientific articles on mental retardation. These articles examine such topics as how common mental retardation is, and factors such as low birth weight or smoking during pregnancy that increase the risk that a child will have mental retardation. You can see a list of these papers (starting in 1990) by using the keyword search on the NCBDDD publications Web page. Choose "mental retardation" in the keyword box on the search page. You can choose whether you want the list to be sorted by author or by date. You can also choose to have the list appear with or without graphics. Click on the Submit button. You will see a list of papers that are about mental retardation. The list will include the complete reference for each paper and a link to an abstract of the paper or to the full text, when available.

About the Author

www.cdc.gov
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the 13 major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves.