Physical health status of pupils in a school for the mentally disabled in Lagos.

The study set out to assess the health status of pupils of a school for children with mental disability. The school is Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care and Treatment Home School, Akoka, Lagos. The records of 211 pupils were reviewed and the pupils were clinically examined by the author. Seventy-four (35.1%) of the subjects had complete immunization, 48(22.7%) had incomplete immunization while 44(20.9%) received no immunization. The probable aetiology of mental disability in the subjects was due to postnatal causes (96; 45.5%), natal causes (44; 20.8%), prenatal causes (12; 5.7%) and unknown (59; 28.0%). The most abnormal findings on physical examination were in the central nervous system (199; 94.3%), the musculoskeletal system (137; 64.9%), the mouth/teeth (125; 59.2%) and the skin (98; 46.4%). These findings were worse amongst the residential students than in the non-residential students (p < 0.001). The information obtained from this study will help to serve as a reference for purposes of health planning and policy formulation for children with mental disability.