Alyt Oppewal

1 Introduction The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) defined the condition sarcopenia as a progressive and generalised skeletal muscle disorder characterised by a decline of muscle strength and muscle mass. The condition is severe if physical performance is also affected (Cruz-Jentoft et al. 2019). Sarcopenia can cause problems in daily life (Malmstrom et al.

1 Background Chronic stress is widely recognised as a significant contributor to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and depression, highlighting the importance of measuring stress for effective prevention and early intervention (Keller et al. 2012; Lagraauw et al. 2015; Wright et al. 2015).

1 Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), such as myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure, account for almost one-third of all deaths worldwide (World Health Organization 2021). These diseases are not only an important health issue for the population at large; they are also associated with high morbidity and mortality in individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) (Aparicio et al. 2024; Cho et al. 2024). The increasing life expectancy of individuals with ID (Coppus 2013; Dolan et al.