Increased prevalence of non-communicable physical health conditions among autistic adults.

The study was an online self-report survey, not medical records, so conditions may have been missed or misreported. Recruitment was through autism groups, charities and social media, so the sample may not represent all autistic adults. The survey was in English and required internet access, so people with severe communication, intellectual or physical disabilities may be under-represented. The control group may have included people with undiagnosed autism or high autistic traits, which could make differences smaller than they really are. The authors say the study is underpowered for rare conditions and may produce inflated odds ratios. Participants reported whether they had ever had a condition, but not the age at diagnosis, so findings reflect lifetime history rather than adult-onset timing. The sample was mostly female and UK-based, and males were harder to recruit.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Funding came from the Autism Research Trust, Rosetrees Trust, Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Templeton World Charity Foundation, National Institute for Health Research, CLAHRC East of England, Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking, European Union's Horizon 2020 programme, EFPIA, Autism Speaks, Autistica, SFARI, the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre in Cambridge, the Corbin Charitable Trust, and a Bowring Fellowship at St Catharine's College, Cambridge.

Do not read these odds ratios as proof that autism causes these physical health conditions. The study was a self-report online survey with convenience sampling, and the authors say it is underpowered and may inflate odds ratios.