People with severe intellectual disabilities live 24 years less on average

A meeting of a book club aimed at people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Photograph: Chris Stephens/AP

People living with severe intellectual disabilities are dying 24 years younger on average than the wider population, a study has found, with 40% of such deaths being avoidable.

The study also found that within this group, people from minority ethnic backgrounds were dying 14 years younger than their white counterparts.