Daijiworld Media Network - London

London, Jul 1: A new systematic review and meta-analysis has found a strong association between autism and the psychosis spectrum at both diagnostic and trait levels.

Researchers examined studies that assessed autism, psychosis-spectrum characteristics, co-occurrence of both conditions and related quantitative data. The analysis included nearly seven million participants.

The study found that people diagnosed with one condition had around seven times higher chances of being diagnosed with the other. Participants with one condition also showed significantly higher levels of traits linked to the other.

Researchers noted that the connection between autism and psychosis was previously unclear due to possible methodological challenges, including difficulties in interpreting psychosis questionnaires among autistic individuals and challenges faced by clinicians in distinguishing symptoms of the two conditions.

The review found that negative psychosis-spectrum traits, involving reduced motivation, interest or emotional expression, showed the strongest association with autistic traits. In comparison, positive psychosis-spectrum traits, linked to unusual experiences or behaviours, showed weaker connections.

The researchers suggested that overlapping symptoms and differences in how conditions are measured may explain the varying levels of association.

However, the authors highlighted limitations, including high variation among studies and inconsistent reporting of findings. They stressed the need for further research to better understand the relationship and overlap between autism and psychosis-spectrum conditions.