Open AccessHealth characteristics of reproductive-aged autistic women in Ontario: A population-based, cross-sectional study
Author(s) -
Ami Tint,
Hilary K. Brown,
Simon Chen,
MengChuan Lai,
Lesley A. Tarasoff,
Simone N. Vigod,
Susan L. Parish,
Susan M. Havercamp,
Yona Lunsky
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
autism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.899
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1461-7005
pISSN - 1362-3613
DOI - 10.1177/1362361320982819
Subject(s) - autism , cross sectional study , medicine , psychiatry , population , public health , reproductive health , psychology , environmental health , nursing , pathology
While an increasing number of girls and women are being identified with autism, we know little about reproductive-aged autistic women's health. This study used administrative data from Ontario, Canada, to compare the health of reproductive-aged autistic women with non-autistic women. Overall, reproductive-aged autistic women had poorer health compared with non-autistic women, including increased rates of material deprivation, chronic medical conditions, psychiatric conditions, history of assault, and use of potentially teratogenic medications (i.e. drugs that can be harmful to the development of an embryo or fetus). These findings suggest that there is a need for health interventions tailored to the needs of reproductive-aged autistic women.