Heritability of quantitative autism spectrum traits in adults: A family-based study.
Sara C Taylor, Samantha Steeman, Brielle N Gehringer and 16 others
PMID 34245229WHAT IT FOUND
Autism-related behaviors in adults and their families show moderate genetic influence, but the strength varies by trait and how it is measured.
Self-reports and informant reports capture different genetic signals, so using both provides a more complete picture than either alone.
Key findings
01Most autism-related behavioral traits in adults and their family members were significantly heritable, with moderate estimates for overall autistic behaviors and social anxiety.
02Self-report and informant-report versions of the same questionnaires showed inconsistent levels of heritability, suggesting they capture different genetic information.
03Performance-based cognitive tasks showed little shared genetic influence with each other, unlike questionnaire-based measures.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was selected specifically for high autism spectrum traits and included family members, so results may not apply to the general population. The study reports genetic influence on traits, not the specific genes involved, so it cannot explain the biological mechanisms behind the behaviors. Heritability estimates varied inconsistently between self-report and informant-report versions of the same questionnaires, making it unclear which method is more reliable for genetic analysis.
Declared interests
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and non-U.S. government research funding. No commercial conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these heritability estimates as evidence that specific genetic tests can diagnose autism or predict individual patient outcomes. The study identifies traits that are useful for future genetic research, not clinical biomarkers.