Children and young people with learning disabilities have a far higher risk of dying young – but many of the deaths are potentially preventable, a new study has found.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow found the risk of premature mortality is 12-fold compared to others of the same age.

For girls and young women, the risk was 17 times higher than their peers without learning disabilities.

Treatable conditions – such as epilepsy, respiratory infections and digestive conditions – contributed to many deaths which “could have been avoided through timely and effective quality healthcare intervention”.

Some accidental deaths also could have potentially been prevented through better health promotion or support.

The researchers say a major barrier to good health is key health issues being overlooked and attributed to intellectual disabilities.

But they warn deaths from treatable conditions constitute “a failure to meet the fundamental human right to the highest attainable standard of health”.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, used information from education records to investigate deaths among pupils receiving additional support needs due to intellectual disabilities.

Epilepsy was highlighted as a common cause of death among the group – with neurological-related deaths 77 times higher than in other children and young people.

While people with intellectual disabilities may need particular care and attention throughout treatment, the researchers point out epilepsy is manageable and the risk of death reduces with “timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment”.

Respiratory infections – such as from food or liquid going down the wrong way – and flu were also major causes of deaths.

This could be improved by early diagnosis of swallowing problems and boosting uptake of the flu jab among children and young people with learning disabilities.

The researchers from the Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory, which is based at Glasgow University, said work would now be undertaken to highlight the needs of children and young people with intellectual disabilities.

“We will work together with healthcare professionals in clinical practice, and across specialties to highlight concern over amenable conditions such as epilepsy and respiratory illness, and to identify routes to reducing premature mortality from these conditions.

“We will also work collaboratively with social care providers, families and people with intellectual disabilities, to improve recognition and early detection of important health issues and build understanding of risk factors to secondary health problems.”

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