Older Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Sweden: A Register Study of Diagnoses, Psychiatric Care Utilization and Psychotropic Medication of 601 Individuals.

The study only included older adults who had applied for and received municipal support and had been seen in specialist care, so it may miss older adults with autism spectrum disorder who did not need or receive services. The municipal support register did not contain diagnoses, and 1419 people in the eligible group were not found in the patient register, so their autism spectrum disorder status was unknown. Diagnoses came from routine specialist care records, not from research assessments, and secondary diagnoses may be missed or vary by clinician. Psychiatric care data covered specialist care only, not primary care. Drug data were available only from 2006, not the full 2002 to 2012 period. No statistical significance tests were reported, so patterns are descriptive and should be read cautiously. The sample was selected for significant functional impairment and may not represent all older adults with autism spectrum disorder, including those with normal intellectual functioning.

This work was funded by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, and the funding agency had no role in design, analysis, or interpretation.

Do not read these register findings as proof that autism diagnoses cause psychiatric care use or medication need. The study selected older adults already receiving municipal support and registered in specialist care, and it reports no tested interventions.