Children and adults with autism at higher risk of self-harm

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-10-20 02:00

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Both children and adults on the autism spectrum are more likely to self harm than the general population, according to an international systematic review and meta-analysis. The team looked at 31 studies on the association between autism and self-harm, almost an equal split between studies of children and studies of adults. On balance, the researchers say the odds of self-harming for a person on the autism spectrum are three times that of the general population, with similar odds for suicidal thoughts and attempts. The researchers say the results across the 31 studies were similar for children and adults alike.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Columbia University, USA

Funder: This research was supported by grant R21 HD098522 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (Principal Investigator: Dr Li).

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