Sleep problems and mental health difficulties in older adults who endorse high autistic traits

Stewart, Gavin R.; Corbett, Anne; Ballard, Clive; Creese, Byron; Aarsland, Dag; Hampshire, Adam; Charlton, Rebecca A.; Happé, Francesca

doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101633

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…Quality of sleep has been linked to physical and mental function (Stanley, 2005) and facial aging (Oyetakin‐White et al, 2015). In the general population, comparing older adults with versus without high autistic traits, Stewart et al (2020b) found the high trait group reported more sleep problems, even after adjusting for their higher levels of depression and anxiety.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A twin‐study comparing co‐twins with, and without an autism diagnosis found that neurological conditions (epilepsy, vertigo, headache, brain injury, and hearing impairment) were associated with autistic traits (however, immunological conditions were not; Pan et al, 2019). A recent study found that adults (aged 50 years or older, mean age 62 years) who self‐reported high autistic traits were more likely than those without such traits to experience difficulties with sleep, depression, and anxiety (Stewart et al, 2020b). Thus, taking a dimensional approach to autistic traits may provide additional information about physical health and the pace of aging in autism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Autistic traits are associated with faster pace of aging: Evidence from the Dunedin study at age 45

et al. 2021

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Growing evidence indicates that the defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are distributed throughout the general population; hence, understanding the correlates of aging in people with high autistic traits could shed light on ASD and aging. 915 members of the Dunedin longitudinal birth cohort completed a measure of autistic traits at age 45. A composite measure of the “pace of aging” was derived by tracking the decline in 19 biomarkers across ages 26, 32, 38, and 45 years. Facial age was also assessed. Reports of perceived health were collected from participants themselves, informants, and interviewers. Higher self‐reported autistic traits significantly correlated with a faster pace of aging, older facial age, and poorer self‐, informant‐, and interviewer‐rated health. After control for sex, SES and IQ, autistic traits were significantly associated with each variable: pace of aging (β = 0.09), facial age (β = 0.08), self‐ (β = −0.15), informant (β = −0.12), and interviewer‐rated (β = −0.17) health. Autistic traits measured at age 45 are associated with faster aging. Participants with high autistic traits appear to be more vulnerable to poor health outcomes, as previously reported for those clinically diagnosed with ASD. Therefore, autistic traits may have important health implications. Replicating these findings in samples of autistic people is needed to identify the mechanism of their effect on aging and physical health to improve outcomes for those with ASD diagnoses or high autistic traits. Lay Summary The role that autistic traits have in relation to health outcomes has not been investigated. We looked at how physical health and aging (measured with self‐reported questions and decline in multiple biological measures) were related to autistic traits (measured with a questionnaire, at age 45). We found that higher autistic traits were associated with poorer reports of physical health, and a faster pace of aging. This suggests that both those with autism and those with higher autistic traits may be more likely to experience poorer health outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autistic traits are associated with faster pace of aging: Evidence from the Dunedin study at age 45

et al. 2021

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“…Building on previous studies in autistic adults linking general sleep disturbances to depressive symptoms (Puzino et al, 2021;Stewart et al, 2020), the current study is the first to control for demographic and life factors known to influence both sleep and depression in investigating these associations. We found that lower sleep efficiency was associated with higher depressive symptoms on the BDI-II, furthering previous findings on these associations in both autistic adolescents and adults to show the effect of sleep efficiency above and beyond the impact of demographic and life circumstances (Henderson et al, 2021;Richdale et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In children and adolescents, general sleep disturbances, as well as number of insomnia symptoms, sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, and wake time have been associated with affective problems and depression symptoms (Malow et al, 2006; Mayes & Calhoun, 2009; Richdale et al, 2014). In autistic adults, there is emerging evidence associating general sleep disturbances with depression (Puzino et al, 2021; Stewart et al, 2020) and psychiatric symptoms (Gisbert Gustemps et al, 2021). Poor sleep quality and sleep efficiency have also been associated with general mental health and wellbeing (Henderson et al, 2021; Jovevska et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In autistic adults, there is emerging evidence associating general sleep disturbances with depression (Puzino et al, 2021;Stewart et al, 2020) and psychiatric symptoms (Gustemps et al, 2021). Poor sleep quality and sleep efficiency have also been associated with general mental health and wellbeing (Henderson et al, 2021;Jovevska et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patterns of sleep disturbances and associations with depressive symptoms in autistic young adults

et al. 2022

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Autistic individuals are at an increased risk for both sleep disturbances and depression. While studies in the general population and in autistic adults have drawn general links between sleep disturbances and mental health, few studies have examined the extent to which specific sleep problems may be implicated in the extremely high rates of depression among autistic adults. This study aimed to describe the patterns of sleep disturbances in autistic young adults, and their associations with depressive symptoms while controlling for relevant demographic factors. A sample of 304 legally independent adults (age 18–35 years old) with a childhood diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder self‐reported on their average sleep behaviors during the past week and depressive symptoms on the Beck Depressive Inventory‐II. A significant proportion (86.01%) of autistic young adults experienced at least one of the primary sleep disturbances of interest, including short total sleep time (39.59%), poor sleep efficiency (60.07%), and delayed sleep phase (36.18%). Additionally, lower sleep efficiency and delayed sleep phase were both associated with higher depressive symptoms. The associations between sleep and depressive symptoms identified in our study suggest that sleep treatments may hold potential for ameliorating depressive symptoms in autistic adults who also experience sleep problems. Further research using daily sleep diaries and objective measures of sleep behaviors, as well as longitudinal studies, are needed to understand how changes in sleep may relate to changes in depressive symptoms in autistic adults.

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Predictors of sleep quality for autistic people across adulthood

et al. 2023

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Poor sleep can have a significant impact on physical health and well-being. Sleep problems are common among autistic children, but less is known about sleep across the autistic adult lifespan. Autistic adults (n = 730, aged 18-78 years) were recruited via Simons Powering Autism Research for Knowledge Research Match. Participants completed online surveys asking about demographics, health problems, social support, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and overall and specific aspects of sleep quality. Regression analyses explored the variables associated with sleep quality. Physical health, assigned female sex at birth and self-reported anxiety symptoms significantly contributed to models for all aspects of sleep. Perceived stress contributed to models of overall and subjective sleep quality, and daytime dysfunction. Depression symptoms did not contribute significantly to any of the models of sleep quality. However, utilizing government support mechanisms (such as social security) contributed to the model of sleep efficiency. Age contributed little to models of sleep quality, whereas perceived stress and psychotropic medication use contributed to some but not all aspects of sleep. Sleep quality is poor for autistic people across the adult lifespan. Given known impacts of poor sleep on health, cognition and quality of life, attention should be paid to sleep and its possible everyday effects for autistic people of all ages.

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Sleep problems and mental health difficulties in older adults who endorse high autistic traits

Cited by 12 publications

References 36 publications

Autistic traits are associated with faster pace of aging: Evidence from the Dunedin study at age 45

Autistic traits are associated with faster pace of aging: Evidence from the Dunedin study at age 45

Patterns of sleep disturbances and associations with depressive symptoms in autistic young adults

Predictors of sleep quality for autistic people across adulthood

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