Health conditions in autism: Defining the trajectory from adolescence to early adulthood.
Beth A Malow, Yinge Qian, Jennifer L Ames and 2 others
PMID 37377040WHAT IT FOUND
Obesity, ADHD, neurological disorders, and anxiety were common in autistic youth aged 14 to 22 and rose with age.
Most conditions were more common than in non-autistic youth, and by age 22 autistic females had higher rates than autistic males.
Key findings
01At age 14, autistic youth most often had obesity (13.84%), ADHD (8.09%), neurological disorders (7.31%), and anxiety (6.79%). By age 22, these percentages were 33.53%, 24.86%, 32.95%, and 26.3%.
02Most conditions were more common in autistic youth than non-autistic youth at all ages, while cardiovascular disease was similar between groups.
03Obesity and ADHD were more prevalent among autistic males at age 14, but by age 22 all conditions were more prevalent among autistic females.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The sample was insured and members of one health system, so it may not show health conditions in autistic youth without access to care. The study did not account for intellectual disability, which can be linked to lower BMI and may change health condition patterns. The non-autistic group excluded youth with pre-existing ADHD, so ADHD in non-autistic youth was underestimated. The study only examined common conditions with enough cases, not all possible health problems. Diagnosis was taken from electronic records, and a condition was assumed to persist once coded, so estimates depend on yearly healthcare encounters and are minimum estimates.
Declared interests
No authors declared conflicts of interest. The paper is listed as supported by NIH extramural research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as showing that autism causes these health conditions. The study observed diagnosis codes in insured youth over time and did not test causes or treatments.