Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Autism Res. 2020 Apr;13(4):641-654. doi: 10.1002/aur.2277. Epub 2020 Feb 11.
Autism commonly aggregates in families, with twin studies estimating heritability to be around 80%. Subclinical autism-like characteristics have also been found at elevated rates in relatives of autistic probands. Physical and psychiatric conditions have been reported at elevated rates in autistic children and adults, and also in their relatives. However, to date, there has been no exploration of how aging may affect this pattern. This study examined cross-sectional data from the ongoing online PROTECT study. A total of 20,220 adults aged 50 years and older reported whether they have an autistic first-degree relative. In total, 739 older adults reported having an autistic first-degree relative (AFDR group) and 11,666 were identified as having no family history of any neurodevelopmental disorder (NFD group). The AFDR group demonstrated significantly higher frequencies of self-reported psychiatric diagnoses and a greater total number of co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses than the NFD group. Furthermore, the AFDR group reported elevated current self-report symptoms of depression, anxiety, traumatic experience, and post-traumatic stress than the NFD group. By contrast, few differences between AFDR and NFD groups were observed in physical health conditions, and no differences were observed in the total number of co-occurring physical health diagnoses. These findings suggest that adults who have an AFDR may be at greater risk of poor mental, but not physical, health in later life. Older adults with autistic relatives may benefit from close monitoring to mitigate this susceptibility and to provide timely intervention. Autism Res 2020, 13: 641-654. © 2020 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Children and adults with an autistic relative have been found to experience more psychiatric difficulties than those with no family links to autism. However, a few studies have explored what happens when these individuals get older. Examining over 20,000 adults age 50+, we found that older adults with an autistic relative experienced elevated rates of most psychiatric conditions but not physical conditions. Older adults with autistic relatives may benefit from close monitoring to mitigate this susceptibility and to provide timely intervention.
自闭症通常在家庭中聚集，双胞胎研究估计其遗传率约为 80%。在自闭症患者的亲属中也发现了亚临床自闭症样特征的发生率升高。在自闭症儿童和成人以及他们的亲属中，也报告了身体和精神疾病的发生率升高。然而，迄今为止，尚未有人探讨衰老如何影响这种模式。本研究检查了正在进行的在线 PROTECT 研究的横断面数据。共有 20220 名年龄在 50 岁及以上的成年人报告了他们是否有自闭症一级亲属。共有 739 名老年人报告有自闭症一级亲属（AFDR 组），11666 名被确定为没有任何神经发育障碍家族史（NFD 组）。与 NFD 组相比，AFDR 组自我报告的精神疾病诊断频率明显更高，共患精神疾病诊断总数也更多。此外，AFDR 组报告当前抑郁、焦虑、创伤经历和创伤后应激症状的自我报告症状高于 NFD 组。相比之下，AFDR 组和 NFD 组在身体健康状况方面几乎没有差异，也没有观察到共患身体健康诊断的总数差异。这些发现表明，有自闭症一级亲属的成年人在晚年可能面临更大的精神健康风险，但身体健康风险较小。有自闭症亲属的老年成年人可能受益于密切监测，以减轻这种易感性，并提供及时的干预。自闭症研究 2020, 13: 641-654。©2020 作者。自闭症研究由国际自闭症研究协会出版，由 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 出版。
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