Depression, anxiety are common in adults with IDD

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have very high rates of anxiety and depression, according to a new U.S. study.

Anthony Osuna and colleagues analyzed data collected on more than 44,000 adults. Of this group, 796 were classified as having an IDD because they experienced significant difficulties in at least one of three domains— cognition, self-care, or communication — with these difficulties beginning before 22 years of age.

The researchers report that adults with IDD were far more likely to report a diagnosis of anxiety (57.2% vs. 10.6% for controls) or depression (57.1% vs. 9.9% for controls). In addition, daily episodes of anxiety or depression were much more common in the IDD group.

The researchers also found that financial issues led nearly 18% of individuals with IDD to delay seeking mental health treatment, while more than 9% could not afford treatment at all. Christakis says, “Having insurance doesn’t automatically translate to having access. Our data suggest that, even with coverage, people with intellectual disabilities face significant out-of-pocket costs and difficulty finding providers who accept their insurance and have appropriate expertise in treating their symptoms.”

He adds, “Our findings paint a distressing picture of the mental health and healthcare for people with these disabilities in the United States. Historically, society has not taken the needs of this population as seriously as it should, so in that respect, our findings aren’t surprising. But the scale of burden is shocking.”

Citations

“Anxiety, depression, and care barriers in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Anthony R. Osuna, Jae Kennedy, Chuan Zhou, and Dimitri A. Christakis, JAMA Network Open, February 20, 2026 (free online). Address: Dimitri Christakis, Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, 1920 Terry Ave, Seattle, WA 98101, [email protected].

—and—

“Study: Anxiety, gloom often accompany intellectual deficits,” news release, University of Washington School of Medicine, February 20, 2026.