Psychological, behavioural and biological factors associated with gastrointestinal symptoms in autistic adults and adults with autistic traits.
E B Warreman, L A Nooteboom, M B Terry and 6 others
PMID 36794469WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with an autism diagnosis or high autistic traits reported more GI symptoms than others.
GI symptoms were linked to anxiety or depression, stress and worse perceived health, and in high-trait adults also to lower physical activity.
Key findings
01GI symptoms were more common in adults with ASD (36% vs 21%) and in adults with the highest autistic traits (25% vs 19%).
02Psychiatric comorbidity, stress and worse perceived health were associated with GI symptoms in adults with ASD, adults without ASD, and both autistic-trait groups.
03In adults with the highest autistic-trait scores, less physical activity was associated with GI symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show whether stress, perceived health, activity or GI symptoms came first. ASD status was self-reported, and only 309 adults with ASD were analysed. The autism questionnaire and the GI, psychological, behavioural and biological data were collected with a mean gap of 4 years. Participants had to be able to complete self-report surveys, so adults with cognitive disabilities or other barriers to self-report were not represented. Dietary factors and food selectivity were not measured. CRP was not analysed in the ASD group because only 3 participants had CRP data.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Lifelines was funded by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, the University Medical Centre Groningen and the northern Dutch provinces. The study also received a grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the higher GI symptom rates as proof that autism causes GI problems. This was a cross-sectional association study, and it did not test whether reducing stress, improving perceived health or increasing physical activity relieves GI symptoms.