Adult's with Autism Face Added Risk of Mental, Physical Illnesses

Statistics show that around 1 in 68 children have been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States, according to the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.

For adults dealing with the behavioral health issue, new research shows that many may also face an added host of mental and physical illnesses. A recent study conducted by Kaiser Permanente showed that those with ASD's are at an increased risk for depression, gastrointestinal issues, obesity, substance abuse and even certain types of cancer, in some cases.

"Some of these conditions we've seen in children with autism, so we expected higher rates of anxiety and depression, and some of the medical disorders, such as gastrointestinal disturbances, in adults," said study author Lisa Croen, director of the Kaiser Permanente Autism Research Program in Oakland, Calif., via Health Day. "That's been reported for a long time in children, so we're not surprised to see those continue to be elevated. But we were surprised by the magnitude of what we found."

For the study, Croen and colleagues examined medical records from 2008 to 2012. They then compared the prevalence of psychiatric, behavioral and medical diagnoses among 2,100 adults who've dealt with these disorders to 21,000 who have not.

Adults diagnosed with an ASD had higher rates of mental health issues, along with other problems, according to Health Day. 

• Depression (38 percent versus 17 percent)
• Anxiety (39 percent versus 18 percent)
• Bipolar disorder (30 percent versus 9 percent)
• Suicide attempts (1.6 percent versus 0.3 percent)

They were also more likely to suffer from certain physical ailments, according to Health Day:

• Diabetes (6 percent versus 4 percent)
• Gastrointestinal disorders (47 percent versus 38 percent)
• Epilepsy (12 percent versus 1 percent)
• Sleep disorders (19 percent versus 10 percent)
• High cholesterol (26 percent versus 18 percent)
• High blood pressure (27 percent versus 19 percent)
• Obesity (27 percent versus 16 percent)

"This new study makes a vitally important contribution by helping to map this little-explored territory," said Paul Shattuck, a Drexel University autism researcher, via The Santa Fe New Mexican. He was not involved in the study.

More information regarding the findings will be presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Atlanta, Ga.