A latest research shows that adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder have higher risk of various mental and physical disorders.
Researchers by Kaiser Permanente found that autistic adults are more prone to depression, gastrointestinal issues, obesity, substance abuse and even certain types of cancer, in some cases.
"Some of these conditions we've seen in children with autism, so we expected higher rates of anxiety and depression, and some of the medical disorders, such as gastrointestinal disturbances, in adults," study author Lisa Croen, director of the Kaiser Permanente Autism Research Program in Oakland, Calif., reports Health Day. "That's been reported for a long time in children, so we're not surprised to see those continue to be elevated. But we were surprised by the magnitude of what we found."
The researchers arrived at the conclusion after analysing medical records from 2008 to 2012. They compared the occurrence of psychiatric, behavioral and medical diagnoses among 2,100 autistic adults and 21,000 without the condition
The findings revealed that autistic adults had increased rates of mental health issues, along with other problems,
- Depression (38 percent versus 17 percent)
- Anxiety (39 percent versus 18 percent)
- Bipolar disorder (30 percent versus 9 percent)
- Suicide attempts (1.6 percent versus 0.3 percent)
- Diabetes (6 percent versus 4 percent)
- Gastrointestinal disorders (47 percent versus 38 percent)
- Epilepsy (12 percent versus 1 percent)
- Sleep disorders (19 percent versus 10 percent)
- High cholesterol (26 percent versus 18 percent)
- High blood pressure (27 percent versus 19 percent)
- Obesity (27 percent versus 16 percent)
The study will be presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta, Ga.
