Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Do Autistic Adults Have More Health Problems?



She found that adults with autism were . . .
  • 70% more likely to be overweight;
  • 50% more likely to have diabetes;
  • 42% more likely to have high blood pressure;
  • 24% more likely to have gastro-intestinal troubles.


When she compared psychiatric issues the differences were even more unsettling:
  • 123% more likely to have been treated for depression;
  • 117% more likely to have been treated for anxiety.















Unknown said...

I wonder if some of the health issues with adults with autism can be linked to a lack of exercise.

Until recently I think, most programs for kids with autism did not include a significant phys ed component - it just wasn't considered important. My 17 year old son (PDD NOS) goes to a school for kids with Autism which has a very enthusiastic PE teacher. He has my son on the treadmill every day, and has had him try his hand at tennis, hockey, basketball, snow shoeing, swimming you name it. As a result, my son is in very good shape physically and may derive some health benefits from that down the line.

Paul Whiteley said...

Thanks for the report.

Isaac Kohane and colleagues have similarly reported on the issue of comorbidity...

kmevans74 said...

I have autoimmune disease and two children on the autism spectrum. From what I am learning from my doctors and own research, autism, leaky gut, and autoimmune disease are all related. If the autoimmune disease is untreated, it can lead to a huge range of health problems, including mental health issues, obesity, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders. The list is huge.

stillfinditsohard said...

Redundant. Perhaps rhetorical. Any discriminated minority is going to greater suffer health difficulties as a result of how the majority treat them. You might as well be asking if the discriminatory behaviour enacted by rich white male Americans has a noticeable effect on everyone else.

This is the first sampling of the content I have seen on your journal. I would say it disappoints me, but I was expecting nothing to begin with.

I would be more interested to know what you think of being thought of as the equivalent of the "house n_____" by Powell types such as myself. said...

I could imagine a number of factors, such as behavioral (lack of exercise), food-related (poor nutrition related to food sensitivities) affecting these outcomes. But in terms of diabetes and weight, the significant links between mothers with endocrine disorders, e.g., PCOS, maternal diabetes, etc., may be relevant. Such conditions could well be inherited. PCOS, for instance, does tend to travel in families. Therefore, if more mothers of autistic people have these conditions, and these conditions do exhibit certain levels of heritability (be it genetic or epigenetic), then one might expect to see higher rates of autistic people with the same or similar conditions.

Unknown said...

Diabetes (LADA, I believe) here ... AND gluten (and lactose/casein? and soy and corn) intolerance ... Anxiety / Depression - and to add to the list a blood clotting disorder too! :( ... thankfully though I seem to have escaped the MS my mum has and the high blood pressure my Nanna has.

Unknown said...

WHoops - forgot PCOS too (which is officially NOT caused by uncontrolled diabetes (because it's still present when diabetes controlled) and also NOT associated with being overweight because I have a 'normal' BMI... also I had a LOT more sleep difficulties before I cut Gluten out of my diet - made a world of difference (though I don't know why)

KateRobbins said...

Yes, I often wonder about this myself. I facilitate an adult asperger support group and anxiety and depression are a regular topic of discussion. High anxiety due to work, school, in fact, all aspects of the challenges of functioning in the neurotypical world. My son, who was not diagnosed with aspergers until age 35, now 39, had kidney failure at age 28. Officially, due to unknown causes, but the Dr. treating him throughout the emergency thought it due to his immune system attacking his kidneys as if they were foriegn to his system. The kidneys were totally distroyed and he had a transplant about a year later. Autoimmune issues seem to be common to autism. I also wonder if there is a connection to the autoimmune issues being connected to prolonged high anxiety.

KateRobbins said...
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pensiveaspie said...

Thank you for sharing the data yuo heard at IMFAR. I have some thoughts on the statistics with alcohol/women/autism. Several women I know on the spectrum don't drink regularly. They don't drink to socialize. They drink during meltdown. They drink when the stress is too much and they need to "get out of my own head". Then they beat themselves up for it. Although they are not regularly consuming alcohol, they may seek treatment because they recognize they need a healthier way to deal with their meltdowns and they WANT a healthier way to deal with them.

That is just my $.02. Love your writing. Keep on keepin' on.