A large-scale registry study conducted by Karolinska Institutet has revealed that older adults with autism face a significantly higher risk of injury, especially self-inflicted, along with physical conditions like type 2 diabetes, anemia, heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The research, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, underscores the urgent need to improve support and care for older autistic adults.
Shengxin Liu, a doctoral student at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Karolinska Institutet, stated, “We found an increased disease burden in middle-aged and older autistic adults, both men and women, irrespective of the presence of an intellectual disability.”
The Research Methodology and Findings
In this population-based study, the researchers linked different national registers and compared the risk for five types of injury and 39 age-related physical conditions in people over the age of 45.
They evaluated the 25-year cumulative incidence and the relative risk in autistic people compared to non-autistic people of the same sex and age.
Of over four million people born between 1932 and 1967, 1,930 women and 3,361 men had an autism diagnosis.
The research showed that autistic people had a higher risk of four of the five studied injuries, with self-harm presenting the greatest risk increase, followed by poisoning, falls, and other physical injuries.
Liu mentioned, “The risk of self-harm was worryingly high, a full seven times higher than in non-autistic people.”
Furthermore, the researchers found a risk increase for 15 physical conditions.
For example, autistic people had three times the risk of anemia and glucose dysregulation and nearly double the risk of heart failure, type 2 diabetes, and COPD.
Looking Ahead
Senior researcher Mark Taylor emphasized the need for researchers, health services, and policymakers to collaborate and ensure that older autistic adults have a better quality of life.
Although this was an observational study, and no causal relationships could be established, the findings offer significant insights into the challenges faced by older adults with autism.
However, variables like socioeconomic status couldn’t be taken into account, and since the study used Swedish registers, its results might not be universally applicable to other countries.
If you care about autism, please read studies about a new cause of autism, and vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about rare blood clots after COVID-19 vaccination and gut health plays a role in autism.
The study was published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
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