Nuzum et al. used cross-sectional data from the UK PROTECT study to evaluate the relationship between high autistic traits and suicidality in older adults.

This cohort study investigates the association between childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits and physical health outcomes in midlife and the role health risk factors play in...

Dementia UK is a charity that provides Admiral Nurses for families affected by dementia. Call our Dementia Helpline to find out how we can support you.

Background Suicide has been reported as a leading cause of premature death in autistic populations. Additionally, risk of suicidality is often found to increase with age in the general population. Des...

Autistic adults have increased risks of trauma, suicide, and poor mental health compared to non-autistic adults, with 1 in 4 autistic adults attempting suicide. We administered an anonymized, self-re...

Research on ageing in autism has sharply increased following a number of influential publications that highlighted the lack of knowledge in this area. However, ...

Background Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) encompasses motor, cognitive, and sensory symptoms resulting from disruptions in brain-body communication. Emerging research suggests a higher-than-expected occurrence of autism in FND, potentially due to shared cognitive mechanisms and overlapping comorbidities. However, large-scale characterisation of this dual-diagnosis is lacking. Methods Using de-identified health records from the TriNetX research network, we identified children and adults with both FND and autism (‘FND + Autism’), comparing them to individuals with FND only (‘FND-only’) and autism only (‘Autism-only’). We examined psychiatric comorbidities (e.g. mood, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders, obsessive–compulsive disorder), intellectual disability and ADHD. Results Of 220,312 individuals with an FND diagnosis, and 674,971 individuals with an autism diagnosis, 5,152 (2.3% of FND, 0.76% of autism) had both FND and autism. The rates of autism were therefore 6 times higher in FND compared to the base rates of the TriNetX population. Most were diagnosed with autism before FND, with over one-third diagnosed in childhood. Functional seizures were the most common FND subtype, and were more frequent in FND + Autism than FND-only (adults: 52% vs. 44%; children: 47% vs. 42%). Comorbidity across all psychiatric conditions was significantly higher in FND + Autism compared to both comparison groups. ADHD was particularly elevated in FND + Autism (adults: 50% vs. 13% FND-only, 36% Autism-only; children: 64% vs. 21% FND-only, 41% Autism-only). Conclusions This study presents the largest dataset to date characterising individuals with co-occurring FND and autism. Findings are consistent with previous findings of higher rates of autism in people with FND and reveal a potentially distinct clinical profile, marked by elevated rates of ADHD and psychiatric comorbidities, and increased occurrence of functional seizures compared to FND- or Autism-only groups. Recognising this overlap may improve diagnosis, clinical care, and understanding of mechanisms underlying the co-occurrence of FND and autism.

Aging in autistic populations is a historically neglected but now rapidly advancing area of research. This narrative review provides a broad overview of the current state of the field of aging on the ...

PhD Project - Loneliness in young adulthood: a 12-year follow up in an epidemiological, genetically-sensitive cohort study at University of Greenwich, listed on FindAPhD.com

Autism is often thought of as a childhood condition, but this is far from true. Autism is a lifelong condition – and most autistic people are adults. Yet less than 1% of autism research has focused on...

Aging in autistic populations is a historically neglected but now rapidly advancing area of research. This narrative review provides a broad overview of the current state of the field of aging on the ...

Aging in autistic populations is a historically neglected but now rapidly advancing area of research. This narrative review provides a broad overview of the current state of the field of aging on the ...

89 to 97 per cent of autistic adults aged 40+ years are undiagnosed in the UK, according to the largest review of its kind. The review indicated that middle-aged and older autistic adults are facing h...