Adults with a less severe form of autism called Asperger Syndrome are nine times more likely than everyone else to think suicidal thoughts. That is what a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal reports.
Researchers from Cambridge University's Autism Research Centre and the Cambridge Lifetime Asperger Syndrome Service in Cambridge conducted a survey (pdf) among 374 adults who were diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome between 2003 and 2014. They found out that a huge majority or 66% of those who answered the survey had thought about suicide, and 35% of the respondents have planned or attempted their suicides. Further, they said that those who had a more severe form of Asperger Syndrome were more likely to plan or attempt to kill themselves.
The researchers also discovered that the rate at which people with Asperger Syndrome think suicidal thoughts are higher in people who have also been diagnosed with depression. The study said that adults who have Asperger Syndrome and depression are four times more likely to think about suicide and two times more likely to attempt it compared to people with Asperger Syndrome but not depression.
By comparison, only 17% of the general population and only 59% of patients diagnosed with psychosis have thought about suicide.
"Our findings confirm anecdotal reports that adults with Asperger Syndrome have a significantly higher risk of suicide in comparison to other clinical groups, and that depression is a key risk factor in this," says one of the lead researchers Sarah Cassidy of the Autism Research Center.
Asperger Syndrome is among a group of disorders in the autism spectrum conditions characterized by social and communication difficulties, problems adapting to change and repetitive behaviors. It is sometimes considered a high-functioning disorder because people diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome do not usually display intellectual disabilities or delayed language development. Around one in every 100,000 people in the U.K. are diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.
The researchers reported certain limitations in their study. For example, they only surveyed people who were diagnosed in their adulthood and did not include those who were diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome as children. Also, they noted that they used a self-method, which could mean higher chances that the survey respondents could have underestimated or overestimated their suicidal thoughts.
"Adults with Asperger Syndrome often suffer with secondary depression due to social isolation, loneliness, social exclusion, lack of community services, under-achievement and unemployment," notes lead researcher Simon Baron-Cohen. "Their depression and risk of suicide are preventable with the appropriate support."
