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full screen Care for the disabled is still unequal, the National Board of Health and Welfare’s report shows. Archive image. Photo: Kallestad, Gorm/NTB/TT
Women with an intellectual or mental disability are approximately six times more likely to die from breast cancer compared to the rest of the population. This is shown in the National Board of Health and Welfare’s report “Initiatives and support for persons with disabilities”.
One reason for the higher mortality rate is that people with disabilities are often diagnosed with cancer much later than others and that the cancer has then had time to spread more.
“This is about people with intellectual or mental disabilities and autism who may have much more difficulty than others in communicating and expressing their wishes or concerns,” says Karin Flyckt, coordinator for disability issues at the National Board of Health and Welfare, in a press release.
Other differences that the National Board of Health and Welfare points to are that people with mental disabilities visit dentists less often, even though they often have worse oral health. They are also less often treated with blood fat-lowering drugs for diabetes than others.