Autism linked to higher risk of serious circulation problems
Autistic people were 1.29 times more likely than matched non-autistic people to have a major event after researchers accounted for other risk factors.
Limit: Women could not be analyzed separately because the sample was too small
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In a UK retrospective cohort study, researchers compared 23,565 autistic people with 117,825 non-autistic people. Health records covered 1990–2019, and the groups were matched by birth year, general practice and gender. Researchers assessed a combined outcome of heart attacks, strokes and other conditions involving reduced blood flow to the heart or brain.
After accounting for demographics and cardiovascular risk factors, autistic people were 1.29 times more likely to have one of these events. The autistic group also had its first events at younger ages. Some conditions associated with cardiovascular risk, including obesity, were more common in the autistic group.
Why it matters
Heart disease and stroke can threaten healthy aging. The researchers called for improved risk management and research into appropriate interventions for autistic people.
Caveats
This retrospective analysis of health records could not establish cause and effect, and the conference abstract gave no absolute event rates. Researchers could not analyze women separately because the sample was too small.
The paper
An increased risk of major ischaemic events among autistic people
