Medical symptoms and conditions in autistic women.
Tslil Simantov, Alexa Pohl, Alexandros Tsompanidis and 7 others
PMID 34184558WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic women reported higher rates of prediabetes symptoms, reproductive diagnoses, and irregular puberty.
Metabolic conditions like diabetes were less common, possibly due to lower healthcare access. Clinicians should screen for these sex-steroid-related issues in autistic women.
Key findings
01Women with prediabetes symptoms, reproductive system diagnoses, or irregular menstrual length were more likely to be autistic.
02Metabolic and vascular health was associated with a reduction in the likelihood of being autistic.
03Reproductive system diagnoses, prediabetes symptoms, and irregular puberty onset were positively associated with autistic traits even in women without an autism diagnosis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relied on self-reported diagnoses and symptoms, which may be inaccurate. Participants were recruited online, potentially excluding those without internet access or with intellectual disabilities. The finding that autistic women had fewer diagnosed metabolic conditions may reflect barriers to healthcare access rather than true physiological differences. Sex-steroid levels were not measured directly, so associations are inferred from symptoms and conditions.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the National Institute of Psychobiology in Israel, the Autism Research Trust, the Templeton World Charitable Foundation, the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre in Cambridge, the Wellcome Trust, and the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lower rates of diagnosed metabolic and vascular conditions in autistic women as evidence of better health. The authors suggest this likely reflects disparities in healthcare access and diagnostic oversight, not a protective physiological effect.