Elevated rates of autism, other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, and autistic traits in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
- PMID: 32770077
- PMCID: PMC7415151
- DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17794-1
Elevated rates of autism, other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, and autistic traits in transgender and gender-diverse individuals
Abstract
It is unclear whether transgender and gender-diverse individuals have elevated rates of autism diagnosis or traits related to autism compared to cisgender individuals in large non-clinic-based cohorts. To investigate this, we use five independently recruited cross-sectional datasets consisting of 641,860 individuals who completed information on gender, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses including autism, and measures of traits related to autism (self-report measures of autistic traits, empathy, systemizing, and sensory sensitivity). Compared to cisgender individuals, transgender and gender-diverse individuals have, on average, higher rates of autism, other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses. For both autistic and non-autistic individuals, transgender and gender-diverse individuals score, on average, higher on self-report measures of autistic traits, systemizing, and sensory sensitivity, and, on average, lower on self-report measures of empathy. The results may have clinical implications for improving access to mental health care and tailoring adequate support for transgender and gender-diverse individuals.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing interests.
Figures
![Fig. 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/7415151/bin/41467_2020_17794_Fig1_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/7415151/bin/41467_2020_17794_Fig2_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/7415151/bin/41467_2020_17794_Fig3_HTML.gif)
![Fig. 4](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/7415151/bin/41467_2020_17794_Fig4_HTML.gif)
Similar articles
-
Research methods at the intersection of gender diversity and autism: A scoping review.Autism. 2024 Apr 25:13623613241245595. doi: 10.1177/13623613241245595. Online ahead of print. Autism. 2024. PMID: 38661070 Review.
-
Gender Incongruence and Autistic Traits: Cerebral and Behavioral Underpinnings.Arch Sex Behav. 2024 May;53(5):1873-1884. doi: 10.1007/s10508-024-02809-5. Epub 2024 Feb 22. Arch Sex Behav. 2024. PMID: 38388763 Free PMC article.
-
Autistic Traits, Empathizing-Systemizing, and Gender Diversity.Arch Sex Behav. 2022 May;51(4):2077-2089. doi: 10.1007/s10508-021-02251-x. Epub 2022 Apr 25. Arch Sex Behav. 2022. PMID: 35467170 Free PMC article.
-
Autistic traits, systemising, empathising, and theory of mind in transgender and non-binary adults.Mol Autism. 2020 Sep 29;11(1):73. doi: 10.1186/s13229-020-00378-7. Mol Autism. 2020. PMID: 32993801 Free PMC article.
-
Autistic traits in individuals self-defining as transgender or nonbinary.Eur Psychiatry. 2019 Sep;61:17-22. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2019.06.003. Epub 2019 Jun 28. Eur Psychiatry. 2019. PMID: 31260907
Cited by
-
A Systematic Review of Gender Dysphoria Measures in Autistic Samples.Arch Sex Behav. 2024 Jun 3. doi: 10.1007/s10508-024-02896-4. Online ahead of print. Arch Sex Behav. 2024. PMID: 38831234
-
Theories on the Link Between Autism Spectrum Conditions and Trans Gender Modality: a Systematic Review.Rev J Autism Dev Disord. 2024;11(2):275-295. doi: 10.1007/s40489-022-00338-2. Epub 2022 Aug 19. Rev J Autism Dev Disord. 2024. PMID: 38803560 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Leveraging Polygenic Scores to Go Beyond Examinations of Pathology Among Gender-Diverse Individuals.Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2024 May 15;4(3):100311. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100311. eCollection 2024 May. Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci. 2024. PMID: 38800640 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
-
A comparison of gender diversity in transgender young people with and without autistic traits from the Trans 20 cohort study.Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2024 May 17;47:101084. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2024.101084. eCollection 2024 Jun. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2024. PMID: 38799613 Free PMC article.
-
Demographic and mental health profile of youth in a gender service: An African case series.S Afr J Psychiatr. 2024 Apr 17;30:2160. doi: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v30i0.2160. eCollection 2024. S Afr J Psychiatr. 2024. PMID: 38726329 Free PMC article.
References
-
- American Psychiatric Association. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edn. (2013).
-
- Baird G, et al. Prevalence of disorders of the autism spectrum in a population cohort of children in South Thames: the Special Needs and Autism Project (SNAP) Lancet. 2006;368:210–215. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical