Are autistic females at greater risk of suicide? A call for clarity to advance suicide prevention for the whole community.
Anne V Kirby, Caitlin M Conner, Carla A Mazefsky
PMID 38429939WHAT IT FOUND
Existing population studies consistently show autistic people are at higher risk of suicide death than non-autistic people, but findings on whether autistic females are at higher risk of suicide attempts than autistic males are mixed and depend on the study location.
What this paper is
This is a commentary and literature summary, not a new study. It reviews existing population-based studies to clarify how suicide risk differs between autistic males and females, but it does not report original methods, participants, or outcomes. Therefore, there is no new finding from this paper to change clinical practice directly.
What it does not show
The paper is a commentary and summary of other studies, not an analysis of raw data. The authors note that many existing studies rely on online convenience samples that over-represent females and high socioeconomic status, which may bias current evidence.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat this as a new trial proving that autistic females are at higher risk of suicide attempts than autistic males. The paper summarizes conflicting evidence from other studies and argues that risk levels vary by region and study design.