Hospital readmissions among older people with intellectual disability in comparison with the general population.

The ID cohort was identified from a support register rather than a confirmed ID diagnosis, so some people may have been misclassified. The study compared people with ID to a general population cohort but did not measure disease severity, comorbidity, communication ability, or post-discharge care, so it cannot show why readmissions were higher. People were included if they were 55 years or older, which is younger than standard older adult definitions. Sociodemographic factors such as marital status and income were not measured. Only inpatient specialist care was analysed, so primary care visits and deaths before readmission may not be captured. A readmission required the same primary diagnosis category, so readmissions for different diagnoses may not be counted.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by Forte, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, grant 2014–4753.

Do not read the higher readmission rate as proof that hospitals gave worse care to people with ID. The study measured readmission only, not care quality, disease severity, communication ability, or post-discharge support. Faster disease progression, later diagnosis, or differences in monitoring after discharge could also explain the result.