Autistic individuals are less likely to identify as heterosexual and more likely to identify with a diverse range of sexual orientations than non-autistic individuals.

While autistic individuals are less likely to use substances, those who do so are more likely to self-medicate for their mental health symptoms.

Autistic people have far greater risks of long term physical health conditions than others, but the reasons for this remain unclear. New research suggests that unhealthy lifestyle habits may be an important contributing factor.

Around one in 57 (1.76%) children in the UK is on the autistic spectrum, significantly higher than previously reported.

Autistic individuals are more likely to have chronic physical health conditions, particularly heart, lung, and diabetic conditions. Better understanding of the physical health of autistic adults may help us improve both their quality and length of life.

Transgender and gender-diverse adults are three to six times more likely as cisgender adults to be diagnosed as autistic. A better understanding of gender diversity in autistic individuals will help provide better access to health care and post-diagnostic support for autistic transgender and gender-diverse individuals.

People with a higher genetic likelihood of autism are more likely to report higher childhood maltreatment, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. A better understanding of these issues is critical to improving wellbeing in autistic people.

Scientists have identified a link between exposure to high levels of oestrogen sex hormones in the womb and the likelihood of developing autism. The findings are published today in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Autistic adults are vulnerable to many types of negative life experience, including employment difficulties, financial hardship, domestic abuse and ‘mate-crime’.

The first large-scale study of autism in China has revealed that around one in a hundred people in China has an autism spectrum condition – the same figure as found in the West.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have completed the world’s largest ever study of typical sex differences and autistic traits. They tested and confirmed two long-standing psychological theories: the Empathizing-Systemizing theory of sex differences and the Extreme Male Brain theory of autism. Working with the television production company Channel 4, they tested over half a […]

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are more likely to have an autistic child, according to an analysis of NHS data carried out by a team at Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre. The research is published today in the journal Translational Psychiatry.