The Mental and Physical Health of Older Adults With a Genetic Predisposition for Autism / Gavin R. STEWART in Autism Research, 13-4 (April 2020)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism Research > 13-4 (April 2020) . - p.641-654 Titre : The Mental and Physical Health of Older Adults With a Genetic Predisposition for Autism Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Gavin R. STEWART, Auteur ; Anne CORBETT, Auteur ; Clive BALLARD, Auteur ; Byron CREESE, Auteur ; Dag AARSLAND, Auteur ; Adam HAMPSHIRE, Auteur ; Rebecca A. CHARLTON, Auteur ; Francesca HAPPE, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.641-654 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Asd  Bap  aging  autism  broad autism phenotype  mental health  older adults  physical health  psychiatric conditions Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : 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. (c) 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. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2277 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=421 [article] The Mental and Physical Health of Older Adults With a Genetic Predisposition for Autism [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Gavin R. STEWART, Auteur ; Anne CORBETT, Auteur ; Clive BALLARD, Auteur ; Byron CREESE, Auteur ; Dag AARSLAND, Auteur ; Adam HAMPSHIRE, Auteur ; Rebecca A. CHARLTON, Auteur ; Francesca HAPPE, Auteur . - p.641-654. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism Research > 13-4 (April 2020) . - p.641-654 Mots-clés : Asd  Bap  aging  autism  broad autism phenotype  mental health  older adults  physical health  psychiatric conditions Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : 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. (c) 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. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2277 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=421

Theory of mind performance in younger and older adults with elevated autistic traits / Gavin R. STEWART in Autism Research, 13-5 (May 2020)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism Research > 13-5 (May 2020) . - p.751-762 Titre : Theory of mind performance in younger and older adults with elevated autistic traits Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Gavin R. STEWART, Auteur ; Gregory L. WALLACE, Auteur ; Martha COTTAM, Auteur ; Rebecca A. CHARLTON, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.751-762 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : adulthood  aging  autism  broad autism phenotype  theory of mind Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Little is known about the impact of aging with Autism Spectrum Disorder on theory of mind (ToM). While ToM difficulties appear to abate with age in older autistic populations, this has yet to be explored in the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP). The current study examined ToM performance among younger (n = 49, aged 18-46) and older adults (n = 47, aged 60-91) who were classified as on the BAP (younger n = 18; older n = 21) or not (younger n = 31; older n = 26) using the BAP Questionnaire. ToM was assessed using the ecologically valid Strange Stories Film Task (SSFT) and the dynamic Happe-Frith Triangle Animations task (TA). A 2 x 2 analysis of variance examined the effects of autistic traits (BAP vs. non-BAP) and age (young vs. old). For both SSFT and TA, results showed autistic trait main effects on task performance (non-BAP > BAP). Age main effects were observed for some but not all metrics on TA (younger better than older), with no differences in SSFT. An interaction of autistic traits and age was observed in TA Intentionality, with younger non-BAP and younger BAP performing similarly but older non-BAP performing better than older BAP. Results show that younger and older adults with elevated autistic traits show poorer ToM performance. Despite ToM difficulties being common in later life in the general population, this effect was not observed when using a ToM task designed to reflect real-world scenarios. However, results suggest that autistic traits and age could interact to increase risk for poor ToM performance in older adults who endorse elevated autistic traits. Autism Res 2020, 13: 751-762. (c) 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The behaviors and characteristics commonly found in autism spectrum disorders have been linked to differences in understanding social situations. Similar difficulties have also been found in older age. We assessed social understanding in younger and older adults from the general population. Both younger and older adults who report more autism-like characteristics experience more difficulties with social understanding. However, few differences were found between younger and older adults. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2206 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=422 [article] Theory of mind performance in younger and older adults with elevated autistic traits [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Gavin R. STEWART, Auteur ; Gregory L. WALLACE, Auteur ; Martha COTTAM, Auteur ; Rebecca A. CHARLTON, Auteur . - p.751-762. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism Research > 13-5 (May 2020) . - p.751-762 Mots-clés : adulthood  aging  autism  broad autism phenotype  theory of mind Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Little is known about the impact of aging with Autism Spectrum Disorder on theory of mind (ToM). While ToM difficulties appear to abate with age in older autistic populations, this has yet to be explored in the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP). The current study examined ToM performance among younger (n = 49, aged 18-46) and older adults (n = 47, aged 60-91) who were classified as on the BAP (younger n = 18; older n = 21) or not (younger n = 31; older n = 26) using the BAP Questionnaire. ToM was assessed using the ecologically valid Strange Stories Film Task (SSFT) and the dynamic Happe-Frith Triangle Animations task (TA). A 2 x 2 analysis of variance examined the effects of autistic traits (BAP vs. non-BAP) and age (young vs. old). For both SSFT and TA, results showed autistic trait main effects on task performance (non-BAP > BAP). Age main effects were observed for some but not all metrics on TA (younger better than older), with no differences in SSFT. An interaction of autistic traits and age was observed in TA Intentionality, with younger non-BAP and younger BAP performing similarly but older non-BAP performing better than older BAP. Results show that younger and older adults with elevated autistic traits show poorer ToM performance. Despite ToM difficulties being common in later life in the general population, this effect was not observed when using a ToM task designed to reflect real-world scenarios. However, results suggest that autistic traits and age could interact to increase risk for poor ToM performance in older adults who endorse elevated autistic traits. Autism Res 2020, 13: 751-762. (c) 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The behaviors and characteristics commonly found in autism spectrum disorders have been linked to differences in understanding social situations. Similar difficulties have also been found in older age. We assessed social understanding in younger and older adults from the general population. Both younger and older adults who report more autism-like characteristics experience more difficulties with social understanding. However, few differences were found between younger and older adults. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2206 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=422

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