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Health and wellbeing

Physical health and lifespan

Which physical conditions are more common in autistic adults and which appear earlier, how much higher death rates are and why the life expectancy figures often quoted are wrong, and what the evidence says about the idea that the immune system plays a part in autism. A research summary, not medical advice.

Some health problems of the body are more common in autistic adults. This page covers which ones, how long autistic people live, and an idea about the immune system that has not been proven.

Last reviewed 12 October 2026 · one person's reading of the research · 62 research and 14 community sources

More physical conditions, more often Established

Autistic adults have more recorded physical health conditions than other adults. In the health records of one large US insurer, 1,507 autistic adults were compared with 15,070 adults of the same age and sex. Nearly all medical conditions were more common in the autistic group, including immune conditions, gut and sleep disorders, seizures, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.1 Among 4,685 autistic adults aged 65 and over in US Medicare records, the odds were higher for nearly all physical conditions, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and gut conditions among them.2 A Swedish register study that followed 5,291 autistic adults from age 45 found higher risks of heart failure, problems with blood sugar control, iron deficiency anemia, poisoning and self-harm, mostly whether or not people had an intellectual disability.3 One anonymous online survey of about 2,300 adults, mostly in the UK, analyzed in two papers, found more self-reported conditions across organ systems in autistic adults. Its sample leaned female, white and highly educated, and the online format probably left out most people with an intellectual disability.4,5

An umbrella review found sleep problems, epilepsy, sensory impairments, allergic conditions, autoimmune disorders and obesity more common in autistic people than in the general population, but not asthma. It called the evidence base slim, and only one of the reviews it covered was about adults alone.6

A 26-year cohort in an Israeli health service, following 6,965 autistic adults and 20,871 other adults matched on age, sex and socioeconomic status, found that half of the autistic group had at least one chronic condition recorded against a quarter (24.5%) of the comparison group, and that conditions including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure were recorded years earlier.57 The size and the timing of the gap come from this one cohort; the section on heart, blood sugar and weight below gives the condition-by-condition figures.

Dementia and related diagnoses are also recorded more often. In the Medicare study, "cognitive disorders", a category that includes delirium and dementia, were recorded for 25.2% of autistic adults over 65 against 4.9% of the comparison group.2 Among Medicaid enrollees aged 30 to 64, the adjusted risk of a dementia diagnosis was about twice as high in autistic adults without an intellectual disability and nearly three times as high with one.7 In the same records the five-year dementia prevalence was higher in people with an intellectual disability and no autism (7.1%) than in autistic people with an intellectual disability (5.2%), so autism itself is not the whole of the elevation.7 In a later Medicare study that matched autistic and non-autistic adults over 65 on background and health characteristics and adjusted for known risk factors, the risk was 20% higher overall, and the rise was concentrated in autistic adults with an intellectual disability (an adjusted subhazard ratio of 1.46 with one, and 1.04 without, which is small and uncertain).8 In that study the gap was wider in the presence of most known risk factors, tested one at a time, notably hypertension (an adjusted subhazard ratio of 2.04), high cholesterol (1.60), depression (1.52) and type 2 diabetes (1.45). Hearing loss was the exception. Its authors suggest these risk factors may affect autistic people differently.8 How to read these numbers is covered in Aging.

Scientists looked at the health records of thousands of autistic adults. They compared them with other adults of the same age.1,2,3 Most body health problems were written down more often for the autistic adults. These included seizures, gut problems, sleep problems, high blood pressure and diabetes.1,2 One online survey found the same thing. Most people in it were women with a lot of schooling.4,5

A big review found sleep problems, epilepsy and allergies more common in autistic people. Asthma was not more common. The review said there were few studies of adults.6

A study in Israel followed autistic adults for 26 years. Half of them had at least one long-term health problem. Only a quarter of the other adults did. Problems like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure showed up earlier for the autistic adults.57 This was one study, so the size of the gap may be different elsewhere.

Dementia is a disease that slowly harms memory and thinking. Doctors wrote it down more often for autistic adults too.2,7,8 But autism is not the whole story. In one study, people with an intellectual disability but not autism had dementia more often than autistic people with one.7 When scientists compared people with the same other health risks, the gap was smaller.8 The page on Aging explains these numbers.

Suggest a correction
Established

Large health-record studies in the US, Sweden and Israel agree, and an umbrella review points the same way, though that review called its evidence base slim and covered mostly children. They count recorded diagnoses, which also depend on how often people see a doctor. Two of the three dementia studies come from one research group's Medicare work; the third is an independent Medicaid study. Older adults with a recorded autism diagnosis in insurance data are likely to be a group with higher support needs. The earlier ages at diagnosis come from one cohort, so how much earlier conditions appear may differ elsewhere.

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Umbrella review

A review of earlier systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

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Intellectual disability

Lifelong difficulty with learning and reasoning, together with difficulty with everyday skills, starting in childhood.

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Established

Many large studies in different countries agree on this. They count what doctors wrote down, so they also depend on how often people see a doctor. One study says the problems start earlier, but that is only one study.

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Intellectual disability

Finding learning and everyday tasks much harder than most people, from childhood on.

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Epilepsy Established

Epilepsy is more common in autistic people than in the general population. A 2022 meta-analysis of 66 studies put it at about 10% overall: 7% in autistic children and 19% in autistic adults.9 Clinical samples gave higher figures than population samples, about 19% against 9%.9 A systematic review of 74 studies found a median of 12.1%.10

Epilepsy is more common in autistic people with an intellectual disability. A 2008 meta-analysis found it in 21.5% of autistic people with an intellectual disability against 8% without.11 The same meta-analysis compared autistic girls and boys and found epilepsy more common in girls.11 Studies whose samples had more girls and women reported higher rates too, in the 2022 meta-analysis and as a trend in the systematic review. Those findings compare studies, not individuals, and may partly reflect intellectual disability, which also varied between samples.9,10

Seizures can start at any age. In an early study of 192 autistic people, the risk was highest in early childhood and raised again in early adolescence.12 In a UK study of 150 people diagnosed as children and followed to age 21 or older, 22% developed epilepsy; in most, seizures began after age 10, and in some they began in adulthood.13

Epilepsy means having seizures again and again. A seizure is a sudden burst of electrical activity in the brain. About 1 in 10 autistic people have epilepsy.9,10 For autistic adults, it is closer to 1 in 5.9

Epilepsy is more common in autistic people who also have an intellectual disability. In one review, about 1 in 5 of them had it. For autistic people without one, it was about 1 in 12.11 The same review found epilepsy more common in autistic girls than boys.11 Other studies looked at groups with more girls and women. They compared whole studies, not people. So scientists are not sure yet what this means.9,10

Seizures can start at any age. One early study found the risk highest in early childhood, and raised again in the early teens.12 In one study, most seizures started after age 10, and some started in adulthood.13

Suggest a correction
Established

Several meta-analyses and systematic reviews agree on the raised rate, though they pool many of the same studies. Estimates vary with the kind of sample. The age at which seizures start comes from two single cohorts, and the link with sex rests on a 2008 meta-analysis's comparison of girls and boys and on comparisons between studies, so both are emerging.

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Epilepsy

A condition of repeated seizures, sudden bursts of electrical activity in the brain.

Established

Many studies agree that epilepsy is more common. When seizures start, and whether girls have it more, is less certain.

Gut symptoms Established

Gut symptoms are more common in autistic children. A 2014 meta-analysis of 15 studies found about four times the odds of general gut symptoms, with more constipation, diarrhea and abdominal pain.14 How common they are depends on how they are measured. A review of 144 studies found estimates for any gut symptom ranging from 4.2% to 96.8%, varying with who reported the symptoms.15

There are fewer studies in adults. In a Dutch population cohort of 31,185 adults, 309 of them diagnosed autistic, both autistic adults and adults with many autistic traits had more gut symptoms. Among the autistic adults, gut symptoms went with having a psychiatric condition, with stress and with rating one's own health as poorer.16 In US Medicare records of adults over 65, the odds were about five times as high for gut conditions such as gastroenteritis and constipation, and nearly three times as high for upper or lower gut disorders.2

In children and adolescents, gut symptoms do not seem to reflect gut inflammation across the group. A 2024 meta-analysis of two stool markers of inflammation found no group difference, though there were early signs of higher levels in a subset with more severe gut symptoms. Many of the comparison groups included children with gut symptoms, which its authors say limits the findings.17 Sleep problems are also common; see Eating and sleep.

Autistic children have tummy and bowel problems more often than other children. These include constipation, diarrhea and stomach pain.14 Studies count these problems in different ways, so their numbers are very different.15

There are fewer studies of adults. Two large studies found more gut problems in autistic adults too.16,2 In one, gut problems went along with stress and other mental health conditions.16

One review looked for signs of a swollen, irritated gut in autistic children. It did not find more of them.17 Sleep is covered on the page Eating and sleep.

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Established

A meta-analysis in children supports the higher rate. The adult evidence is thinner: one Dutch cohort and US insurance records.

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Established

A big pooled study of children shows this. There are fewer studies of adults.

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Autoimmune conditions Emerging

Autistic people are diagnosed with autoimmune conditions somewhat more often. In a Minnesota birth cohort, 1,014 autistic people followed to at most age 35 had 1.74 times the risk of an autoimmune diagnosis of matched people from the same cohort. By age 30, 8.8% of autistic females had one against 4.8% of other females, and 5.3% of autistic males against 3.4% of other males.22 The cohort was mostly male, and the smaller female group was too small to show a clear difference on its own; the study cannot establish a difference between the sexes.22 In the health records of children and young adults at one US insurer, autoimmune disease was recorded for 1% of autistic people against 0.76% of others.23 A Finnish national study found slightly raised odds as well.24

Findings for single conditions disagree. Psoriasis was more common in the insurer's records but not in the Minnesota cohort, which counted only each person's first autoimmune diagnosis and had small numbers.23,22 Autoimmune thyroiditis was raised in the Finnish study.24 A meta-analysis of diabetes of any type, not only the autoimmune type 1, found a raised rate that was no longer significant once other factors were taken into account; its authors judged the link likely confounded.25 In Swedish biopsy registers, an earlier autism diagnosis was not linked to celiac disease, but it was linked to a positive celiac blood test with a normal gut lining. Looking forward, people with celiac disease were somewhat more likely to be diagnosed autistic later, people with milder gut inflammation more so, and people with a positive blood test and a normal gut lining most of all.26

The largest test of a single condition found no raised risk. In Swedish registers, 46,164 autistic people were matched by sex and birth year to 4,634,895 controls and followed from age 18 for up to 30 years. Rheumatoid arthritis was diagnosed in 0.13% of the autistic group and 0.12% of the comparison group, giving a hazard ratio of 1.06 (95% confidence interval 0.82 to 1.37). Adjusting for parental autoimmune and psychiatric history and socioeconomic status still gave a null result (a hazard ratio of 1.34, with a confidence interval that included one). The authors read the findings as no raised risk of rheumatoid arthritis in autistic people.65

In an autoimmune condition, the body's defense system attacks its own body. Type 1 diabetes and psoriasis are examples.

Some studies suggest autistic people get these a little more often.22,23,24 In one study, about 9 in 100 autistic girls and women had one by age 30. For other girls and women, it was about 5 in 100.22 The studies do not agree about which conditions are more common.23,22,25

One big Swedish study looked at one condition, rheumatoid arthritis. Autistic adults had it no more often than other adults.65

Suggest a correction
Emerging

Three independent cohorts in the US and Finland agree on a modest rise, but no meta-analysis found as of October 2026 has pooled them, the absolute numbers are small, and findings for single conditions disagree. The cohorts that found a rise followed children and young adults; a large Swedish study of adults found no raised risk for one condition, rheumatoid arthritis.

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Autoimmune condition

A condition in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissue, such as type 1 diabetes, psoriasis or celiac disease.

Emerging

A few studies agree on a small rise. They do not agree about which conditions. They looked at young people. One big study of adults found no rise for one condition.

Heart, blood sugar and weight Emerging

Heart, blood sugar and weight problems are more common in autistic adults, and in one cohort they also appeared at younger ages. In the records of an Israeli health service, 6,965 autistic adults and 20,871 adults matched on age, sex and socioeconomic status were followed for up to 26 years. Half of the autistic group (51%) had at least one chronic condition recorded, against a quarter (24.5%) of the comparison group. Type 2 diabetes was recorded about 9 years earlier, high blood pressure about 5 years earlier, and overweight or obesity about 7 years earlier. The study found no difference for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or for cardiovascular disease as a group.57

Weight is the best studied of these. A 2026 meta-analysis of 64 studies found about twice the odds of obesity in autistic people (odds ratio 1.93) and raised odds of overweight (1.73), across children, adolescents and adults. The estimates varied widely between the pooled studies. The analysis found no group-level difference in underweight, but higher underweight in autistic adolescents and, more markedly, autistic adults (odds ratio 2.14). The studies were rated at medium risk of bias and used a mix of clinical, registry, self-reported and screening definitions of autism.58

The heart findings are less settled. A 2026 systematic review of 56 studies of autistic adults found the cardiovascular picture mixed: it reported lower recorded rates of high blood pressure alongside higher rates of severe outcomes such as heart failure and stroke, which its authors read as suggesting gaps in early detection and preventive care. The review found no evidence that autistic adults age faster overall, and it found more neurodegenerative disease, sensory impairment and musculoskeletal conditions, and rates of cancer similar to or lower than non-autistic adults. Almost all of its studies were of autistic adults without intellectual disability.59 Genetic studies that use inherited variation rather than measuring people directly point the same way as the severe-outcome finding: a 2025 meta-analysis of them linked autism liability to atrial fibrillation and heart failure, but not to high blood pressure.61

Whether these conditions are checked for is a separate question. In a US cohort of 230 autistic young people aged 16 to 30 at one children's hospital and one clinic, 73% of those prescribed antipsychotics had been tested for cholesterol and blood sugar at some point, against 49% of those who were not. Counting prescriptions rather than people, of 1,538 antipsychotic prescriptions, 847 (55%) had neither a lipid test nor a blood-sugar test within a year, and only 23% had both. Having other blood tests done was the main factor linked to monitoring. The sample was mostly male and white, and the authors say the findings may not apply evenly to people with different support needs.60

Autistic adults have more heart and weight problems. These problems also start younger. One Israeli health service looked at the records of 6,965 autistic adults. It compared them with 20,871 other adults of the same age. Over up to 26 years, half of the autistic adults had at least one long-term condition. Only a quarter of the other adults did. Type 2 diabetes showed up about 9 years earlier. High blood pressure showed up about 5 years earlier.57

Weight is the best studied. A big pooled study of 64 studies looked at this. It found autistic people were about twice as likely to have obesity. They were also more likely to be overweight.58

The heart findings do not agree. One big review found lower rates of high blood pressure. But it found more serious heart problems, like heart failure and stroke. The authors think heart problems may be found later in autistic people. The review also found no sign that autistic adults get old faster.59 Some studies of genes agree with the serious-heart-problem finding. They link autism to heart failure and an irregular heartbeat, but not to high blood pressure.61

Doctors may not check for these problems enough. One US study followed 230 autistic young people at one hospital. Some took a medicine called an antipsychotic. Of 1,538 prescriptions, 847 (55%) had no blood test for cholesterol or blood sugar within a year.60

Suggest a correction
Emerging

The higher rate of obesity rests on a meta-analysis of 64 studies, which pooled studies using clinical, registry, self-reported and screening definitions of autism. The younger ages at diagnosis and the monitoring figures each come from a single cohort, in Israel and at one US children's hospital, so those parts are early evidence.

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Type 2 diabetes

A condition in which the body's cells respond less well to insulin, so blood sugar stays high.

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Antipsychotic

A type of medication used for psychosis and for severe irritability or aggression; some kinds can raise weight, cholesterol and blood sugar.

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Emerging

A big pooled study backs the finding on weight. The findings on when conditions start, and on blood tests, each come from one study. So this section is early evidence.

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Type 2 diabetes

A condition where the body stops using sugar from food well. Then too much sugar stays in the blood.

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Antipsychotic

A medicine used for psychosis, and for very bad irritability or aggression. Some kinds can make people gain weight.

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Death rates and causes Established

People diagnosed autistic die at higher rates than other people of the same age and sex. A 2022 meta-analysis of 12 studies found a risk about 2.4 times that of the general population, with wide differences between studies. The pooled estimate was higher for deaths from natural causes than from unnatural causes such as injury and suicide, though the ranges overlapped and both estimates were rated low confidence.27 In Swedish registers covering 27,122 autistic people, 2.6% died during follow-up against 0.91% of matched controls. The odds were 5.8 times as high in autistic people with an intellectual disability and 2.2 times as high without one.28 In UK primary-care records of people with a recorded diagnosis, the rate was 1.71 times as high without an intellectual disability and 2.83 times as high with one.29 In nine US areas, children identified as autistic at age 8 and followed into young adulthood had a smaller raised risk; in the study's subgroup analysis the only group clearly above the general population was females with an intellectual disability, and deaths from injury and other external causes were not raised.30 In Taiwan, 64,685 autistic people matched on age and sex to 1,279,174 controls had about 2.3 times the death rate of the comparison group.56

The causes differ by group. In Sweden, epilepsy was the most common cause of death in autistic people with an intellectual disability.28 In Australia, the leading cause in that group was diseases of the nervous system, including epilepsy, and in autistic people without an intellectual disability, injury and poisoning.52 Deaths by suicide were raised about 7.5 times in the Swedish study. The rise in relative risk was largest in autistic people without an intellectual disability and in women, though more of the deaths were in men.28 A meta-analysis of 10 studies, from few countries, put the suicide risk at about 2.9 times that of others, higher in women than in men.31

Much of the risk falls on autistic people who also have other conditions. In a Swedish register of 70,546 autistic people followed from age 16 to at most 46, the death rate was 3.2 per 1,000 person-years in autistic people who also had a psychiatric condition, against 0.96 in autistic people without one and 0.27 in non-autistic people without one. Within autistic people, a co-occurring psychiatric condition was associated with about 3.4 times the death risk, and about 14 times that of non-autistic people without one.54 In a Danish cohort of 20,492 autistic people, 57 of the 68 who died also had a mental, behavioral or neurological condition; once such a condition was present, autism added little further risk.32 In Australia, too, mental health conditions went with a higher death risk.52

Autistic people die at higher rates than other people their age. Many studies found death rates about twice as high.27,28,29,56 The gap was bigger for people who also have an intellectual disability.28,29 It was smaller in one US study of young people.30

Epilepsy was a common cause of death for people with an intellectual disability.28,52 Suicide was more common too. The risk rose most for people without an intellectual disability, and for women. But more of the deaths were in men.28,31

Many who died also had another health problem.32 In a Swedish study, autistic people who also had a mental health condition died more often. They died about three times as often as autistic people without one.54 A Danish study found the same pattern.32

Suggest a correction
Established

A meta-analysis and independent national studies in several countries agree that death rates are higher. The meta-analysis includes the Swedish study, and effect sizes differ widely. The split of causes by intellectual disability rests mostly on Sweden, with Australia and Taiwan agreeing at the level of broad categories, and higher rates in autistic people who also have other mental or neurological conditions appear in Swedish, Danish and Australian data, though the studies define those conditions differently. All studies are of people with a recorded diagnosis, mostly diagnosed young and mostly male.

Highest risk is not most common cause

Suicide has one of the largest relative risks, but it is not the most common cause of death. A study of 506 articles citing the Swedish study listed calling suicide the "leading cause of death" among the common errors.33

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Established

Many studies in many countries agree. Facts about causes of death come mostly from one country at a time.

A big risk is not the same as a common cause

Suicide risk is much higher than for other people. But it is not the most common cause of death.33

See also

Reading the life expectancy figures Emerging

The figures often quoted, that autistic people live to 36 or to 54, are average ages at death among the few who died during a study. The 36 comes from 1,367 US death certificates from 1999 to 2014 that recorded childhood autism; the average age at death was 36.2, against 72.0 in the general population.34 Such samples are a small, skewed subset: in a US study that linked autistic children to death records, only 11% of those who died had autism on the death certificate.30 The 54 comes from the Swedish study, where the autistic people who died had an average age at death of 53.87, against 70.20 for the controls who died.28 Fewer than 3 in 100 of the autistic people in that cohort had died.33 Because diagnosis was made mostly in young people, those who died were young too, even if death rates were low.29 A 2025 analysis of 506 articles citing the Swedish study found that 70.4% described its findings incorrectly or misleadingly, including claims about life expectancy that the study does not support.33

Life expectancy is estimated with life tables. Two recent studies have done this. The first used UK primary-care records. At age 18, men with a recorded autism diagnosis and no intellectual disability had an apparent life expectancy of about 74.6 and women about 76.8, roughly 6 years less than matched comparison groups. With an intellectual disability, the figures were about 71.7 for men and 69.6 for women, about 7 and 15 years less. The intervals around these estimates are wide; for women without an intellectual disability the gap could be as small as about 1 year.29 The authors suggest the larger gap for women with an intellectual disability may partly reflect underdiagnosis of autism or intellectual disability in women, and they say the figures may overstate the gap for autistic people in general, because perhaps 9 in 10 autistic people went undiagnosed in that period and those diagnosed may well have had greater support needs.29 Among older adults with a recorded autism diagnosis in Medicare, 39.6% died within five years against 15.1% of others, a likely high-needs group; those who died did so at a median age of 72 against 75.35

The second estimate used US Medicaid records. Across 2,048,046 autistic beneficiaries from 2000 to 2020, life expectancy at birth was 64.9 years, about 5.6 years less than the overall Medicaid beneficiary population and 13.8 years less than the US general population, with a larger shortfall for women than men. The authors say the sample is likely poorer and more severely affected than autistic people not in Medicaid, so the figures may be too low.55 The two estimates differ in more than the population: one is measured from age 18 and the other from birth, and one compares with matched non-autistic patients while the other compares with all Medicaid beneficiaries and with the general population.

Often saidAutistic people live to 36, or to 54.
Evidence

Both are average ages at death among the minority who died during short studies, not life expectancy. The life-table estimates are smaller, about 6 to 15 years in the UK study, and 5.6 to 13.8 years in the US Medicaid study depending on the comparison group, and both sets of authors think their figures may overstate the gap.34,28,29,55

Life expectancy means how long people can expect to live. You may read that autistic people live only to 36 or 54. Those numbers are wrong as life expectancy.34,28

They come from studies of the few people who died during a short time. Most people in those studies were young. So the people who died were young too.29,33

One UK study estimated life expectancy the proper way. For autistic adults without an intellectual disability, it was about 6 years less than for other people. With an intellectual disability, it was about 7 years less for men and 15 years less for women.29 The answer is not exact. For women without an intellectual disability, the gap might be only about 1 year.29 The scientists think even these gaps might be too big. Many autistic people were never diagnosed, so they were not counted.29

A second study used US Medicaid records. Medicaid is a US health program for people with low income or a disability.55 For autistic people on Medicaid, life expectancy at birth was about 65 years. That was about 6 years less than other people on Medicaid, and about 14 years less than Americans in general.55 The people on Medicaid were probably poorer and more unwell than other autistic people. So the real number may be higher.55

Often saidAutistic people live to 36, or to 54.
Evidence

Those are ages of people who died young during short studies. They are not life expectancy. Both real studies found smaller gaps.34,28,29,55

Suggest a correction
Emerging

Two recent life-table estimates exist, one from UK primary-care records and one from US Medicaid, but each is a single study, the two use different samples, starting ages and comparison groups, and the intervals around the estimates are wide. The explanation of the often-quoted figures comes from two published analyses.

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Life table

A method that uses death rates at each age to estimate how long a group of people can expect to live.

Emerging

Two studies have estimated life expectancy the proper way. They used different groups of people, and their answers are not exact.

The immune hypothesis Hypothesis

One proposal holds that the immune system, the mother's during pregnancy or the person's own, plays a part in how autism develops in some people. Several kinds of evidence are cited for it.

The first kind concerns pregnancy. Meta-analyses report modestly higher odds of autism in children of mothers with an autoimmune disease (about 1.3)36 and in families with a history of autoimmune disease.53 They also report slightly higher odds after an infection in pregnancy (about 1.1, or 1.3 for infections needing a hospital stay).37 Family studies weaken the infection link. In a Stockholm cohort of 549,967 children, siblings born after pregnancies with and without an infection did not differ, and infection in the year before pregnancy showed the same link as infection during it. The authors concluded that the link does not appear to be causal.38 A Taiwanese study of about 2.9 million births found the link with maternal infections needing a hospital stay largely explained by family factors, though infections in the child's first year stayed linked to autism in the sibling analysis.39 In mice, activating the mother's immune system leads to autism-like behaviors in the offspring through one immune pathway.40

A second kind concerns antibodies. In blood taken during pregnancy, particular patterns of antibodies against fetal brain proteins were found in 10% of mothers of autistic children, 4% of mothers of children with an intellectual disability only, and 1% of mothers in the general population.41 The patterns were defined and then checked in a new sample by the same research group, whose lead researcher holds patents on the test and founded a company to develop it.42 A separate group, using a different method, found brain-reactive antibodies in 10.5% of mothers of autistic children against 2.6% of other women.43 One further proposal concerns autoantibodies against the folate receptor, a protein that carries folate into cells. In a study of 11 pregnancies with an enlarged measurement on first-trimester ultrasound and no genetic finding, all four mothers who tested positive had a child later diagnosed autistic, against one of the seven who tested negative; with only 11 pregnancies, the study is too small to establish an association.62

A third kind looks at markers in the blood. One 2026 meta-analysis pooled 98 studies, comparing 4,236 autistic with 3,333 non-autistic people aged 2 to 65. It found raised levels of several cytokines, mostly pro-inflammatory (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, TNF-α, CXCL1 and MIF) and also the anti-inflammatory IL-4, while finding no strong evidence that any cytokine went with autism traits within autistic people; over a third of the studies were at high risk of bias.63 A second 2026 meta-analysis, of 132 studies and 27 markers, found the inflammatory markers raised as a group and no metabolic marker significant.64 Both report group averages rather than a test for one person, and neither shows what causes autism. On the evidence itself, one analysis rates over a third of its studies at high risk of bias, and the other found that the only two markers to pass within-family false-discovery testing, TNF-α and IL-6, did not survive correction across all 27 markers measured.

Findings in the brain are mixed. A post-mortem study of 11 brains found activated immune cells of the brain (microglia and astroglia),44 and genes typical of microglia were more active in autism. Those microglial gene groups were not enriched for genetic risk variants.45 A scan study of 15 young autistic men found lower, not higher, levels of a marker of glial activation.46 In one large genetic analysis, Crohn's disease, the only immune condition included, shared no genetic risk with autism or other brain disorders.47 Another found shared genetic risk between several psychiatric conditions and immune conditions, but not for autism.48 Genetic findings do not line up. A 2025 analysis of genome-wide data covering 15 autoimmune diseases and 8 psychiatric conditions, autism among them, reported genetic overlap for 105 of the 120 condition pairs.66

The Cunningham Panel, a blood test for antibodies against brain proteins, has been used to select autistic children for treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). Its support in autism is one open-label case series of 31 children, selected at one clinic for suspected autoimmune brain inflammation and treated without a control group, in which 90% of parents reported some improvement and 62% of children had side effects. Two of its authors led Moleculera Labs, the company that provides the panel.49 An independent Swedish evaluation, in children tested for suspected PANS or PANDAS (abrupt-onset neuropsychiatric syndromes), found abnormal results in most healthy controls and poor agreement when the test was repeated.50 A systematic review found only one double-blind, placebo-controlled study of IVIG in autism. It called IVIG promising, and one of its two authors was the senior author of the case series.51

Often saidAutism is an autoimmune disease.
Evidence

Autistic people have somewhat more autoimmune diagnoses, and some immune factors in pregnancy are associated with autism. Sibling comparisons of infection in pregnancy do not support immune processes as a general cause, and the genetic studies disagree: two 2018 analyses found no genetic correlation between autism and the immune conditions they tested, while a 2025 analysis reported shared genetic overlap for some autism pairs.22,38,47,48,66 None of them shows that immune processes cause autism.

The immune system is the body's defense system. Some scientists think the mother's immune system during pregnancy, or a person's own, might play a part in autism.

Some studies found autism a bit more often when the mother had an autoimmune disease or an infection while pregnant.36,37 But brothers and sisters born after pregnancies with and without an infection were alike. So the infection itself may not be the reason.38,39 In mice, a sick mother's immune system can change how her babies behave.40 Mice are not people.

Some mothers of autistic children have certain antibodies in their blood.41,43 Antibodies are proteins the body uses to fight germs. Most of this work comes from one team, and its leader is building a company around a test.42 One more idea is about antibodies that stop the body from using folate, a vitamin. In one very small study, four mothers had these antibodies. All four had a child who was later diagnosed autistic. One of the other seven did. That is too few people to prove a link.62

Two big reviews in 2026 looked at blood tests for signs of inflammation. They found small differences between autistic and non-autistic people, on average. One review found no clear difference in other markers. These are average differences between groups, not a test for one person. They do not show what causes autism. But the proof is not strong. One review found problems with over a third of its studies. In the other, the only two markers that passed one test did not pass when all 27 markers were tested.63,64

Brain studies are small and do not agree.44,46 Gene studies do not agree either. Two older ones found no shared risk with immune diseases.47,48 A newer one found shared risk for many pairs of conditions.66

A company sells a blood test called the Cunningham Panel. It is meant to show which autistic children might be helped by a drip treatment. Only one small study tested it in autism, and it had no comparison group.49 In another study, most healthy children got abnormal results too.50

Often saidAutism is an autoimmune disease.
Evidence

Some immune problems are a little more common in autistic people. But the evidence does not show that the immune system causes autism.22,38,47

Suggest a correction
Hypothesis

The links with pregnancy come from overlapping meta-analyses of mostly case-control studies, and two independent sibling comparisons find the link with infection in pregnancy largely explained by family factors. Two 2026 meta-analyses find modestly raised inflammatory markers in autistic people as a group and no significant metabolic marker, but these are group averages and not a test for one person, and they measure differences, not cause. The mechanism comes from animal studies, most antibody findings come from one group, and the brain findings are small and mixed. No study found as of October 2026 has shown that immune processes cause autism in people.

Word
IVIG

Intravenous immunoglobulin: antibodies pooled from donated blood and given by drip, used for immune deficiencies and some autoimmune diseases.

Word
Microglia

The brain's resident immune cells.

Hypothesis

This is an idea, not a fact. As of October 2026, no study has shown that the immune system causes autism. Some evidence fits the idea, and some does not.

In the community Community

Autistic writers name the same conditions research does. Devon Price writes that autistic people "experience epileptic seizures, gastrointestinal conditions, and hypermobility conditions like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome at elevated rates", and that each makes an autonomous old age harder.c1 Megan Anna Neff writes that "Autistic people are more susceptible to experiencing gut-related issues" and suggests ways to support gut health.c2 Orion Kelly writes: "I don't believe I've ever had a day without experiencing some level of gastrointestinal discomfort."c6 In a guide for clinicians, Donna Henderson, Sarah Wayland and Jamell White cite the US insurance study described above and write that it cannot yet be known how far the gap comes from difficulty getting health care, providers not taking autistic patients' complaints seriously, stress, medication side effects, diet or self-care.1,c7

Lifespan figures circulate widely in community writing. Sol Smith writes that "the average life expectancy of an autistic person hits an all-time low of thirty-nine in 2018 (another study that same year put it at fifty-four)".c3 Smith also gives "nine to twenty years less" for autistic people without learning disabilities, a figure sourced in the book's notes to a parenting magazine.c4 Pete Wharmby writes that, depending on the statistics, the life expectancy of autistic people "balances out at either around thirty-six years old, or a little later at fifty-four", adds that this does not mean any autistic person will be dead by their mid-fifties, and reads the figures as an alarm that autistic people are dying younger than they should.c8 Carly Jones, citing the Swedish study, gives an average age of death of 58 for autistic people and a life expectancy of 39.5 for those with learning disabilities; Alex Ratcliffe, introducing a collection of accounts by autistic adults aged 20 to over 70, gives the same study's figure as 54 for autistic people without a learning disability.c9,c10 Price gives a gap of six years for men and twelve for women, and writes that those who reach 65 have life expectancies "far more comparable" to everyone else's.c1 The research above treats such figures with care. The 36 and the 54 are average ages at death among the people who died, rather than life expectancies. In the Swedish study, 54 was the average for the whole autistic group, and 58 and 39.5 were the averages for those without and with an intellectual disability. The two life-table estimates find smaller gaps than the headline figures, and their authors think even those may be too high.34,28,29,55

Writers also describe how health care treats autistic patients. Eric Garcia tells the story of Lydia Wayman, an autistic woman with several chronic conditions, who said: "My doctors did misunderstand my behavior, but I'm sure I was missing social cues that they were doubting me."c5 Garcia also recounts the case of Paul Corby, whose doctors put his symptoms down to anxiety and did not examine his heart, and who was later refused a heart transplant in part because of his autism.c5 Colin, writing in Ratcliffe's collection, has had back pain since 1995 that makes standing for more than a few minutes impossible: "If I get ignored or given the brush-off, I literally can't bring it up again." Colin waited 15 years before trying again, and was eventually told it was chronic pain syndrome.c11

Other writers describe pain that the people around them did not read. Carly Jones describes walking alone to her family doctor with appendicitis at 14, joking on the couch, then taking the bus to school, and reaching the hospital only later that day; she writes that autistic girls who are oversensitive to some pain can be undersensitive to pain inside the body.c9 Wharmby has no idea how to rate his pain from 1 to 10 and so says "5", and asks doctors to allow for understatement by autistic patients.c13 Henderson, Wayland and White write that some people "do not show the typical signs of physical or emotional pain" and need to be taken seriously on their verbal report alone.c14

Devon Price writes that seizures, gut problems and bendy-joint conditions are more common for autistic people.c1 Megan Anna Neff writes that autistic people have more gut problems.c2 Orion Kelly writes about having some gut pain nearly every day.c6 Donna Henderson, Sarah Wayland and Jamell White wrote a guide for doctors. They say no one knows yet why autistic people have more health problems. One possible reason they list is doctors not taking autistic patients seriously.c7

Some writers repeat numbers about how long autistic people live. Sol Smith gives 39 and 54.c3 Pete Wharmby gives 36 and 54. He says this does not mean an autistic person you know will die by their mid-fifties.c8 Carly Jones and Alex Ratcliffe give other numbers from the same Swedish study.c9,c10 Price gives a gap of 6 years for men and 12 for women.c1 Research shows that the 36 and the 54 are not real life expectancies. They are average ages of the people who died during a study.34,28,29

Eric Garcia writes about autistic people and doctors. One woman, Lydia Wayman, said her doctors misread her behavior.c5 Another man's doctors blamed his symptoms on worry and did not check his heart.c5 Colin had back pain for years. When doctors brushed Colin off, it was impossible to bring it up again. Colin waited 15 years before trying again.c11

Other writers say that people did not see their pain. At 14, Carly Jones had appendicitis, when a small part of the gut swells and needs surgery. She still took the bus to school and got to the hospital only later that day.c9 Pete Wharmby finds it hard to rate his pain from 1 to 10, so he tends to say 5.c13 The guide for doctors says to believe what patients say about pain, even if their face looks calm.c14

Suggest a correction
Community

How autistic writers describe physical health and lifespan. These are descriptions and arguments, not research findings.

See also
Community

This is what autistic writers say in their books. It is not research.

See also

From nonspeaking writers Nonspeaking

Amy Sequenzia, a nonspeaking autistic writer who types to communicate, was once told while she had second-degree burns on her arm that she "did not feel pain"; she writes, "I do, but my face does not show the intensity of the pain, or my reactions might not be what neurotypical people expect."c12

Amy Sequenzia does not speak. She types to communicate. Once she had bad burns on her arm, and someone said she did not feel pain. She writes that she does, but her face does not show it.c12

Suggest a correction
Nonspeaking

In their own words, written by typing, spelling, handwriting or AAC, some with a communication partner's support. Researchers dispute whether some partner-supported methods let the writer, not the partner, choose the words; the pedia reports these accounts as their writers' and does not settle that question here. The methods and the evidence about who authors the words are set out in Facilitated communication and spelling to communicate.

Nonspeaking

These are the words of people who do not speak and write by typing or spelling. Some use a helper. Researchers disagree about some of those methods. You can read about these methods in Facilitated communication and spelling to communicate.

Sources

Research

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Community sources

  1. c1Price D. Unmasking for Life: The Autistic Person's Guide to Connecting, Loving, and Living Authentically. Harmony Books, 2025. Chapter 6, "Life". Devon Price's site
  2. c2Neff MA. Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask! Adams Media, 2024. Chapter 2, "Physical Self-Care". Megan Anna Neff's site
  3. c3Smith S. The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult. New World Library, 2025. Chapter 8, "Mindful Unmasking". Sol Smith's site
  4. c4Smith S. The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult. New World Library, 2025. Chapter 3, "Okay, So What Is Autism?". Sol Smith's site
  5. c5Garcia E. We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021. Chapter 5, "Somebody Get Me a Doctor". Eric Garcia's site
  6. c6Kelly O. Autism Feels ...: An Earthling's Guide. Dean Publishing, 2023. Chapter 5, "Less-known Autistic Traits".
  7. c7Henderson D, Wayland S, White J. Is This Autism? A Guide for Clinicians and Everyone Else. Routledge, 2023. Chapter 9, "Common co-occurring challenges".
  8. c8Wharmby P. Untypical: How the World Isn't Built for Autistic People and What We Should All Do About It. Mudlark, 2023. Chapter 4, "More Than a Hobby", section "Burnout". Pete Wharmby's site
  9. c9Jones C. Safeguarding Autistic Girls: Strategies for Professionals. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2021. Chapter 5, "Designing and Sustaining a New Blueprint".
  10. c10Ratcliffe A, ed. Our Autistic Lives: Personal Accounts from Autistic Adults Around the World Aged 20 to 70+. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019. Introduction.
  11. c11Ratcliffe A, ed. Our Autistic Lives: Personal Accounts from Autistic Adults Around the World Aged 20 to 70+. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019. Part "Our 40s", chapter "Colin".
  12. c12Ballou EP, daVanport S, Onaiwu MG, eds. Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity. Beacon Press, 2021. Chapter 18, "I Am an Autistic Woman" (Amy Sequenzia, types to communicate).
  13. c13Wharmby P. Untypical: How the World Isn't Built for Autistic People and What We Should All Do About It. Mudlark, 2023. Chapter 1, "The Social Web". Pete Wharmby's site
  14. c14Henderson D, Wayland S, White J. Is This Autism? A Guide for Clinicians and Everyone Else. Routledge, 2023. Chapter 3, "Nonverbal communication".