Finding the Proportion of Females with Autistic Spectrum Disorder Who Develop Anorexia Nervosa, the True Prevalence of Female ASD and Its Clinical Significance

Abstract

It appears that up to 80% of females with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) have not been diagnosed by the age of 18. This translates to a prevalence of about 5–6%, and if true, has serious implications for female mental health. One way of finding the true value is to use Bayes’ Theorem with a comorbid condition as a more easily recognizable flag. An obvious choice is anorexia nervosa (AN), but it transpires that the proportion of women with ASD who develop AN is unknown. This study uses published data in novel ways to provide two methods of estimating a range for this variable, and gives a median value of 8.3% for AN in ASD and, with four other methods, a median prevalence of 6% for female ASD. The clinical implications of the diagnosis and management of ASD and its comorbidities are discussed and, as an example, a solution is provided for the rate of ASD in symptomatic generalized joint hypermobility. It is probable that one in six women with a mental health condition is autistic.

Female Teens and Young Adults with Mental Illness Who Are Autistic: How Common Is It and Why Is It Important?

“…It would be the key to unlocking a great deal of epidemiological information in female adolescent and adult mental illness, and could lead to practical solutions to improve management of these comorbid conditions. This paper aims to use Bayes' theorem [13] to calculate the components of the comorbid landscape to assess their overall quantitative importance. The independent variables will be derived from extant literature and the author's clinical practice.…”

“…3. A total population with a discrete population of diagnosed ASD where there is an easily recognized comorbidity and the proportion of the comorbid condition in that ASD population is known, together with the prevalence of the comorbid condition in the balance of the population without ASD [13] eg the Danish [44] and Swedish [45] national registers including ASD and anorexia nervosa (AN).…”

“…In (1) the bias in ascertaining probands can be calculated and the true P(ASD) found [2]. In (2) and ( 3) P(ASD) can be found by using versions of Bayes' theorem [2,13]. The biases are accounted for in (2) and (3) because they have populations where ASD has already been diagnosed or reliably sought.…”

Is Interoception Deficit Linking Alexithymia and Eating Spectrum Symptoms? Study on a Non-Clinical Sample of Young Adults

“…Taken as a whole, EDs are associated with high mortality rates and physical/psychological comorbidities, namely depressive episodes (MDE), bipolar disorders (BP), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder (PD), post-traumatic spectrum disorders (PTSD), and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), all interfering with the response to available treatment options, especially in patients with AN [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Patients with AN and ASD seem to share a similar neuropsychological background, demonstrating impairment in emotion recognition, empathic abilities, and emotional introspection [ 14 ], leading to conditions characterized by intense ‘interpersonal discomfort’ [ 15 ] and chronic severe difficulties in social activities [ 16 ].…”

“…Patients with AN and ASD seem to share a similar neuropsychological background, demonstrating impairment in emotion recognition, empathic abilities, and emotional introspection [14], leading to conditions characterized by intense 'interpersonal discomfort' [15] and chronic severe difficulties in social activities [16].…”