A description of medical conditions in adults with autism spectrum disorder: A follow-up of the 1980s Utah/UCLA Autism Epidemiologic Study.
Adults with autism arrive with a stack of chronic health problems—screen for seizures, obesity, insomnia, and constipation every visit.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers tracked down adults who had been part of a 1980s autism study in Utah.
They asked each person or caregiver to list every long-term health problem the person now has.
The team wanted a clear picture of how many and which medical issues adults with autism face.
What they found
Every adult carried a long list of chronic conditions. The typical person had eleven.
Seizures, obesity, insomnia, and constipation showed up most often.
These problems appeared whether the adult also had intellectual disability or not.
How this fits with other research
Ekas et al. (2011) saw the same pattern five years earlier. Their medical-record study found adults with autism had twice the odds of high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Sivertsen et al. (2012) followed children with autism for years and found insomnia rarely went away. Together the studies show sleep trouble starts young and stays.
Gyamenah et al. (2024) linked early social-communication delays to later constipation. The adult data now show that gut issue can last for decades.
Why it matters
If you serve adults with autism, expect multiple medical needs at once. Build seizure, weight, sleep, and bowel checks into every care plan. Share this list with primary doctors so nothing is missed.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study describes medical conditions experienced by a population-based cohort of adults with autism spectrum disorder whose significant developmental concerns were apparent during childhood. As part of a 25-year outcome study of autism spectrum disorder in adulthood, medical histories were collected on 92 participants (N = 69 males) who were first ascertained as children in the mid-1980s, 11 of whom were deceased at the time of follow-up. Questionnaires queried medical symptoms, disorders, hospitalizations, surgeries, and medication use. Median age at follow-up was 36 years (range: 23.5-50.5 years), and intellectual disability co-occurred in 62%. The most common medical conditions were seizures, obesity, insomnia, and constipation. The median number of medical conditions per person was 11. Increased medical comorbidity was associated with female gender (p = 0.01) and obesity (p = 0.03), but not intellectual disability (p = 0.79). Adults in this cohort of autism spectrum disorder first ascertained in the 1980s experience a high number of chronic medical conditions, regardless of intellectual ability. Understanding of these conditions commonly experienced should direct community-based and medical primary care for this population.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2016 · doi:10.1177/1362361315594798