Table 1 Studies to date examining incidence of physical health disorders in autistic versus non-autistic people
Paper | Sample size | Data source/method | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
Bishop-Fitzpatrick et al. [38] | 91 autistic, 6186 non-autistic | Machine learning paradigm constructed from electronic health records, ICD-9 codes, V-codes and E-codes | Higher rates of cardiovascular, motor, ear, urinary and digestive problems in autistic people, as well as long-term medication side effects. Lower rates of cancer in autistic people |
Davignon et al. [20] | 4123 autistic, 20,615 with ADHD, 2156 with diabetes, 20,615 non-autistic | Health records of 14–25 year olds from Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) | Elevated rates of nearly all organ systems studied (developmental delay, psychiatric disorder, allergies, cardiovascular, endocrine, ear/nose/throat, gastrointestinal, genetic, haematology/oncology, injuries, metabolic, musculoskeletal, neurological, nutritional, overweight/obesity, ophthalmological, pulmonary, sleep and smoking) in autism versus typical controls |
Fortuna et al. [16] | 255 autistic adults | Rochester Health Status Survey IV was used to collect data on health status from 18–79 year olds. The results were compared with national prevalence rates | Higher rates of seizure disorder in the 18–29 year olds and over 40 year olds studied than the general population. 18–29 year olds more likely to have hypertension and allergies |
Hand et al. [12] | 4685 autistic, 46,850 non-autistic | Comparison of medicare data amongst older adults (65 +) | Higher rates of epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and gastrointestinal disorders. Also higher rates of osteoporosis, cognitive disorders, heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease and osteoarthritis |
Hirvikoski et al. [2] | 27,122 autistic, 2,672,185 non-autistic | Case cohort study on data from Swedish National Patient Register and Cause of Death Register | Odds ratio of 2.56 for mortality in autistic versus non-autistic people during the studied period. Mean age at death 70.2 among non-autistic people versus 53.9 in autistic people |
Kohane et al. [9] | 14,381 autistic versus 2,379,397 non-autistic | Retrospective prevalence study using ICD-9 hospital data from 18–34 year olds | Higher rates of epilepsy, gastrointestinal disorders and neurological disorders in autistic versus non-autistic people |
Croen et al. [11] | 1507 autistic, 15,070 non-autistic | Kaiser Permanente Northern California data, using ICD-9 codes of adults over 18 | Higher rates of gastrointestinal disorders, neurological disorders (including strokes and Parkinson’s Disease), sleep disorders, seizures, obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and diabetes |
Rydzewska et al. [15] | 6649 autistic versus 3,739,935 non-autistic | Scottish Census Data for over 25Â year olds | Higher rates of sensory impairments, intellectual disability and physical disability in autistic versus non-autistic people |
Tint et al. [39] | 6870 autistic women versus 2,686,160 non-autistic women | Reproductive age women (15–44) studied using administrate health data, using ICD and DSM codes | Significantly higher rates of diabetes and teratogenic medication use, and higher primary care use |
Turcotte and Shea [76] | 1197 autistic people | Pennsylvania autism needs assessment study data (a self-report survey) of over 18Â year olds | Higher use of physical health services amongst autistic people |
Vohra et al. [71] | 1772 autistic versus 5320 non-autistic | Medicaid data for 22–64 year olds in Illinois, New York and Texas | Higher rates of epilepsy, skin disorders and hearing impairments. Also more outpatient appointments, prescription drug use and higher health expenditure overall |
Weiss et al. [40] | 5095 autistic versus 10,487 with other developmental disorders versus 393,263 typical controls | Health administrative data from 18 to 24Â year olds in Ontario, Canada | Higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, asthma and substance use disorders in autistic versus non-autistic people. Additionally, greater number of visits to hospital specialists |
Weir et al. *[31] | 1156 autistic versus 1230 non-autistic | Self-report data of diagnosed non-communicable illnesses via survey from adults, regardless of physical health/mental health status | Higher rates of cardiovascular/respiratory conditions, as well as diabetes, even when controlling for demographic and lifestyle related factors |