%0 Journal Article %T Utilizing the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) to Understand the Aging of People Living in the Community with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities %A Philip McCallion %A Junrong Shi %A Lisa A. Ferretti %A Mary McCarron %J Health %P 47-59 %@ 1949-5005 %D 2021 %I Scientific Research Publishing %R 10.4236/health.2021.131005 %X There remain challenges in understanding the aging lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Method: A cross-sectional comparison of people with and without I/DD was created using China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A definition of I/DD was established, three samples were created: those with an assigned/described intellectual and developmental disability prior to age 22 years; those with similar impairments at and after age 22 years; and those in the population without an assigned/described impairment. Findings: Those with I/DD appeared to have greater health needs on initial analysis. People with an impairment similar to I/DD but occurring after age 22 years had the same or greater needs in subsequent analyses. Both groups had greater needs than those with no identified disability. Discussion: There must be greater efforts to discover those with I/DD who are already in existing datasets, greater attention to the full range of lives led by people with I/DD and inclusion of data from a broader range of countries. %K Intellectual Disability %K Developmental Disability %K Aging %K China %U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=106743