Adults with learning disabilities are almost twice as likely to die from preventable or avoidable illnesses, new research shows.
The findings show that 39 per cent of adults with learning disabilities die from preventable deaths. In comparison, the figure for the general population is 21 per cent.
On a more positive note, the 39 per cent figure for avoidable deaths for adults with learning disabilities is a fall from 46 per cent in 2021.
Professor Andre Strydom said avoidable deaths in people with learning disabilities are almost double that of the general population
The findings are by King’s College, London.
Downward trend ‘heartening’
The figures emerged in this year’s Learning from Lives and Deaths – people with a learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR) report.
The report’s chief investigator is Professor Andre Strydom. He said the downward trend for avoidable deaths was “undeniably heartening”.
But Strydom added that it was important not to “overlook the context”. That’s because the rate remains almost double that of the general population.
Ethnic minorities die earlier
Another key finding was that people with learning disabilities from ethnic minorities die around 20 years younger than white people with learning disabilities.
Asian and Asian British people with learning disabilities had a median or mid-range age at death of just 43.
Also, those with a profound or severe learning disability had a mid-range age at death of 57, compared to 64 for people with learning disabilities as a whole.
Average age of death is only 62.5
People with learning disabilities as a whole still die on average around 20 years younger than the rest of the population. Their mid-range age at death is only 62.5.
Those with a profound learning disability were also more likely to have a treatable cause of death, such as pneumonia or seizures.
In a statement, care minister Stephen Kinnock said the LeDeR report highlighted how good practice in care has increased by more than 10 per cent.
But Kinnock admitted that the report also shows “there is much work for us to do”.
Related:
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- Hospitals ‘may have caused deaths’
- Research excludes learning difficulties
- We pay a fortune to harm people, says MP
Published: 12 September 2025
