Academic publications

Brown, M., M.Linden, L.Marsh, M.Truesdale, F.Sheerin, and F.McCormick. 2026. “‘One Size Does Not Fit All’. The Voices of Professionals Regarding the Delivery of Relationships and Sexuality Education to Children and Young People With Intellectual Disability: Findings From a UK-Wide Qualitative Study.” Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities39, no. 2: e70223. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.70223.

Leonard RA, Truesdale M, Brown M, Marsh L, Todd S, et al. (2026) A randomised controlled feasibility study of the Carers-ID intervention to support the mental health of family carers of people with intellectual disabilities. PLOS ONE 21(3): e0345096. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0345096

Cairns D, Dunn K, Young R, Greenlaw N, Cooper SA, Pell JP, Rydzewska E. Mental Ill-Health in Mothers Caring for Offspring With Intellectual Disabilities at Different Stages of Caregiving: Secondary Data Analysis and Data Linkage of Administrative and Health Records. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil. 2026 Jan;39(1):e70200. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.70200 

Shepherd, V., Royston, R., Totsika, V., Cairns, D., et al. Redesigning trials to be inclusive of people with a learning disability—a practical example. Trials 27, 120 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-026-09446-4 

Ersfjord, E.M.I.; Røstad-Tollefsen, H.K.; Kolset, S.O.; McGarty, A.M. Caught Between Vulnerability and Neglect: Nutrition in People with Intellectual Disabilities. Nutrients 2026, 18, 304. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18020304

Gillooly, A., P. Thompson, J. Bradshaw, et al. 2025. “ The Mental Health and Well-Being of Adults With Intellectual Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic Across the UK: A Four-Wave Longitudinal Analysis.” Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 1–11. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jir.70006

Nijhof, D., Sosenko, F., Mackay, D. et al. A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Investigation of COVID-19 Hospitalizations and Mortality Among Autistic People. J Autism Dev Disord (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-025-06844-6

Nijhof, D., Sosenko, F., McKernan Ward, L., Cairns, D., Hughes, L. & Rydzewska, E. (2025) Making a Case for an Autism-Specific Multimorbidity Index: A Comparative Cohort Study, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-025-06823-x

Rydzewska E, Nijhof D, Hughes L, et al. Rates, causes and predictors of all-cause and avoidable mortality in 514 878 adults with and without intellectual disabilities in Scotland: a record linkage national cohort study. BMJ Open 2025;15:e089962. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089962

Smith, G.S., Fleming, M., Cooper, S.A., Henderson, A., Pell, J., Melville, C. and Cairns, D., (2025). Hospitalisation rates for epilepsy, asthma and insulin-dependent diabetes in 796 190 school-aged children and young people with and without intellectual disabilities: a record-linkage cohort study. BMJ open, 15(2), p.e088809. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-088809

Sosenko, F., Mackay, D., Pell, J.P. et al. Understanding covid-19 outcomes among people with intellectual disabilities in England. BMC Public Health 23, 2099 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-16993-x

Maenhout, L., Verloigne, M., Cairns, D. et al. (2023). Co-creating an intervention to promote physical activity in adolescents with intellectual disabilities: lessons learned within the Move it, Move ID!-project. Res Involv Engagem 9, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-023-00420-x

Linden, M. A., Forbes, T., Brown, M., Marsh, L., Truesdale, M., McCann, E., Todd, S. and Hughes, N. (2022) Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family carers of those with profound and multiple intellectual disabilities: perspectives from UK and Irish Non-Governmental Organisations. BMC Public Health, 22, 2095. (doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14560-4)

Brown, M., MacArthur, J., Truesdale, M. and Higgins, A. (2022) The transition from child to adult health services for young adults with intellectual disabilities: An evaluation of a pilot of an online learning resource for Registered Nurses. Nurse Education in Practice, 64, 103424. (doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103424) (PMID:35947941)

Henderson, A., Cooper, S-A., Fleming. M., Pell, J., Hatton, C., MacKay, D., Melville, C. & Kinnear, D.  (2022) COVID-19 infection and outcomes in a population-based cohort of 17,203 adults with intellectual disabilities compared with the general population. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. doi: 10.1136/jech-2021-218192 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35232778/

Cooper, S-A., Henderson, A., Kinnear, D., MacKay, D., Fleming, M., Smith, G., Hughes McCormack, L., Rydzewska, E., Dunn, K., Pell, J.P., Melville, C. (2022) Cohort profile: Scotland’s record-linkage e-cohorts of people with intellectual disabilities, and autistic people (SCIDA). British Medical Journal Open http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057230

Ward, L.M., Cooper, S-A., Henderson, A., Stanley, B., Greenlaw, N., Pacitti, C. & Cairns, D. (2022) A study on prescriptions contributing to the risk of high anticholinergic burden in adults with intellectual disabilities: retrospective record linkage study. Annals of General Psychiatry, 21 (41) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12991-022-00418-x

Sherriff, A., Stewart, R., Macpherson, L.M.D., Kidd, J.B.R., Henderson, A., Cairns, D. & Conway, D.I. (2022) Child oral health and preventive dental service access among children with intellectual disabilities, autism and other educational additional support needs: A population-based record linkage cohort study. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, https://doi.org/10.1111/cdoe.12805

Hughes-McCormack LA, Rydzewska E, Cooper S, et al (2022) Rates, causes and predictors of all-cause and avoidable mortality in 163 686 children and young people with and without intellectual disabilities: a record linkage national cohort study. BMJ Open 2022;12:e061636. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061636 

Ward, L. M., Stanley, B., Greenlaw, N., Cooper, S.-A., Pacitti, C., Henderson, A., Gibson, J., and Kinnear, D. (2021) “Risk of anticholinergic burden in adults with intellectual disabilities: a Scottish retrospective cohort study of n = 17 220” Journal of Intellectual Disability Research https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jir.12861

Fulton, L., Kinnear, D. and Jahoda, A. (2021) Belonging and reciprocity amongst people with intellectual disabilities: a systematic methodological review. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(4), pp. 1008-1025. (doi: 10.1111/jar.12881) (PMID:33723903)

Rydzewska, E. , Dunn, K. and Cooper, S.-A. (2021) Umbrella systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on comorbid physical conditions in people with autism spectrum disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 218(1), pp. 10-19. (doi: 10.1192/bjp.2020.167) (PMID:33161922)

Ewelina Rydzewska, Michael Fleming, Daniel Mackay, Genevieve Young-Southward, Jan Blacher, Yasamin Ross Bolourian, Keith Widaman & Sally-Ann Cooper (2021) General health status of youth with autism with and without intellectual disabilities transitioning from special education, and its relationship to personal and family circumstances: longitudinal cohort study, International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2021.1966600

Truesdale M, Melville C, Dunn K, Henderson A, Hughes-McCormack LA, McGarty A, Rydzewska E, Smith G, Symonds J, Jani B, Kinnear D. Respiratory-associated deaths in people with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open 2021; 11:e043658. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043658 

Rydzewska, E., Dunn, K., Cooper, S.-A., and Kinnear, D. (2021) Mental ill-health in mothers of people with intellectual disabilities compared to mothers of typically developing people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12827

Henderson, A., Kinnear, D., Felming, M., Stanley, B., Greenlaw, N., Young-Southward, G., Pell, J.P. and Cooper, S.-A. (2021) Antipsychotic and antidepressant prescribing for 704 297 children and young people with and without intellectual disabilities: record linkage study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 218(1), pp. 58-62 (doi: 10.1192/bjp.2020.232)

Dunn, K., Jahoda, A. and Kinnear, D. (2021) The experience of being a father of a son or daughter with an intellectual disability: older fathers’ perspectives. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(1), pp. 118-128. (doi: 10.1111/jar.12791)