A cohort study of accidents occurring in mentally handicapped patients living in institutions.

Background: Mentally handicapped patients who require extensive and generalised care and are resident in mental health institutions have certain characteristics that could mean that they suffer certain types of accidents. The aim of this study was to determine the number and type of accident-related injuries in this population in order to design appropriate preventative strategies.

Methods: Accident-related injuries in patients resident in six institutions in the north of Spain were recorded prospectively over a period of 21 months.

[Digital computerized absorptiometry in the diagnosis of osteoporosis in a group of the severely mentally retarded].

Background: The loss of bone mass after a certain age is a physiological fact that, in certain circumstances, is capable of inducing osteoporosis. In the diagnostic strategies for this condition, densitometry is a well-accepted technique now widely used. On patients with severe mental retardation, a number of circumstances come into play and may foster a greater frequency of osteoporosis.