David Mason1, Angelica Ronald2, Antony Ambler1,3, Avshalom Caspi1,4,5,6,7, Renate Houts4, Richie Poulton3, Sandhya Ramrakha3, Jasmin Wertz4, Terrie E Moffitt1,4,5,6,7, Francesca Happé1. 1. Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom. 2. Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck University of London, London, United Kingdom. 3. Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. 4. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 5. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 6. Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA. 7. PROMENTA Center, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates that the defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are distributed throughout the general population; hence, understanding the correlates of aging in people with high autistic traits could shed light on ASD and aging. 915 members of the Dunedin longitudinal birth cohort completed a measure of autistic traits at age 45. A composite measure of the "pace of aging" was derived by tracking the decline in 19 biomarkers across ages 26, 32, 38, and 45 years. Facial age was also assessed. Reports of perceived health were collected from participants themselves, informants, and interviewers. Higher self-reported autistic traits significantly correlated with a faster pace of aging, older facial age, and poorer self-, informant-, and interviewer-rated health. After control for sex, SES and IQ, autistic traits were significantly associated with each variable: pace of aging (β = 0.09), facial age (β = 0.08), self- (β = -0.15), informant (β = -0.12), and interviewer-rated (β = -0.17) health. Autistic traits measured at age 45 are associated with faster aging. Participants with high autistic traits appear to be more vulnerable to poor health outcomes, as previously reported for those clinically diagnosed with ASD. Therefore, autistic traits may have important health implications. Replicating these findings in samples of autistic people is needed to identify the mechanism of their effect on aging and physical health to improve outcomes for those with ASD diagnoses or high autistic traits. LAY SUMMARY: The role that autistic traits have in relation to health outcomes has not been investigated. We looked at how physical health and aging (measured with self-reported questions and decline in multiple biological measures) were related to autistic traits (measured with a questionnaire, at age 45). We found that higher autistic traits were associated with poorer reports of physical health, and a faster pace of aging. This suggests that both those with autism and those with higher autistic traits may be more likely to experience poorer health outcomes.
Growing evidence indicates that the defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are distributed throughout the general population; hence, understanding the correlates of aging in people with high autistic traits could shed light on ASD and aging. 915 members of the Dunedin longitudinal birth cohort completed a measure of autistic traits at age 45. A composite measure of the "pace of aging" was derived by tracking the decline in 19 biomarkers across ages 26, 32, 38, and 45 years. Facial age was also assessed. Reports of perceived health were collected from participants themselves, informants, and interviewers. Higher self-reported autistic traits significantly correlated with a faster pace of aging, older facial age, and poorer self-, informant-, and interviewer-rated health. After control for sex, SES and IQ, autistic traits were significantly associated with each variable: pace of aging (β = 0.09), facial age (β = 0.08), self- (β = -0.15), informant (β = -0.12), and interviewer-rated (β = -0.17) health. Autistic traits measured at age 45 are associated with faster aging. Participants with high autistic traits appear to be more vulnerable to poor health outcomes, as previously reported for those clinically diagnosed with ASD. Therefore, autistic traits may have important health implications. Replicating these findings in samples of autistic people is needed to identify the mechanism of their effect on aging and physical health to improve outcomes for those with ASD diagnoses or high autistic traits. LAY SUMMARY: The role that autistic traits have in relation to health outcomes has not been investigated. We looked at how physical health and aging (measured with self-reported questions and decline in multiple biological measures) were related to autistic traits (measured with a questionnaire, at age 45). We found that higher autistic traits were associated with poorer reports of physical health, and a faster pace of aging. This suggests that both those with autism and those with higher autistic traits may be more likely to experience poorer health outcomes.
Authors: Sebastian Lundström; Zheng Chang; Maria Råstam; Christopher Gillberg; Henrik Larsson; Henrik Anckarsäter; Paul Lichtenstein Journal: Arch Gen Psychiatry Date: 2012-01
Authors: Gavin R Stewart; Anne Corbett; Clive Ballard; Byron Creese; Dag Aarsland; Adam Hampshire; Rebecca A Charlton; Francesca Happé Journal: Autism Res Date: 2020-02-11 Impact factor: 5.216
Authors: Maria E Verhoeff; Laura M E Blanken; Desana Kocevska; Viara R Mileva-Seitz; Vincent W V Jaddoe; Tonya White; Frank Verhulst; Maartje P C M Luijk; Henning Tiemeier Journal: Mol Autism Date: 2018-01-30 Impact factor: 7.509