Life expectancy

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Joe90, the internet is no place to apply logic. We are going to have to deduct some points from you and this may go onto your permanent record.

Of course there will be outliers. There will always be that one person whose uncle smoked 4 pack a day for 80 years and lived to be 120. That doesn't mean the trend is not accurate.

And if the average life expectancy for aspies is 58, as the info posted by Mikah suggests, then 61 is not outside of 2 standard deviations from that.

Also, I can barely run 3 yards, let alone 3 miles.

They might be using a very broad measure. The shortened life expectancies might have little to do with the actual ASD itself and more to do with the poor lifestyle it often brings. We have more heart attacks and suicides it seems the heart attacks might just be the result of poor diet caused by comfort eating. The suicides might be the result of sitting in a basement to long and dwelling on negativity in all the ample time one has in said basements.

People with ASD certainly have short life expectancies but there is probably a surprising amount an aspie can do about it. A lot of NT's taking the same lifestyle paths we often do will probably result in a similar drop in life expectancy.

You can change that, Dorkseid.

You can start walking around the block a few times.

I'm not exactly a great physical specimen. You see my picture. I'm no Adonis. When I walk, sometimes, I look like I can barely walk 100 yards because of arthritis in both knees. I look like an old man sometimes when I go (especially) down the stairs.

Yet, I can go maybe 5 1/2 mph, and do at least 3 miles. If I wasn't so lazy, and had more time, I'd do more.

The Aspergers itself DOES NOT reduce life expectancy. It's the lifestyle choices one makes----like others have stated. I don't eat that great. I eat lots of red meat, chicken, and pasta. I also eat lots of cookies and chocolates. I have a really bad diet, actually.

The studies Dorkseid reads presents a composite. They have nothing to do with individual people. The variation between individual people is great. It's like believing people actually have 2.4 cars each in their garages.

You got a friggin' Master's, for crying out loud! You have a distorted view of yourself.

I have all the aforementioned problems with poor life style, poor diet, and eating disorders. I'm obese. I also have an extremely poor social life and am very lonely, another factor studies show to contribute to huge reductions in life expectancy. My family all live in a far away country and have no real presence in my life. I barely have any friends. I'm all on my own. So what you guys are saying doesn't help me feel any better.

I'm not so scared of life choices/certain lifestyles affecting the lifespan of a person, I get more scared (and angry about being on the spectrum) about shortened lifespan due to autism itself, such as "if you're autistic you're more than likely going to drop dead in your 40s or 50s because you have a disease that is caused by autism that will eventually kill you beyond your control".

That's the difference.

Last edited by Joe90 on 31 Jan 2022, 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I had one as a kid. Was hospitalized for it.

The percentage of seizures within people with autism is skewed somewhat by autistic folks who have chromosomal/genetic co-morbids which increase the incidence of seizures.

The incidence of seizures amongst people with "just autism" is probably not in the "20-40%" range.

Dorkseid.....why can't you be proud of yourself that you got your Master's?

It takes lots of work to get your Master's.

You can now get a teaching license, and be a head teacher.

You can work on reducing the weight, just by walking 30 min. and it may help with the social life. Being away from family is a godsend for me, I just spent a week with mom and now I’m in minor burnout. Brutal truth is you are going to have to find a way to deal with the loneliness and the weight to live as long as possible. I’ve been there and therefore, I have felt the same hurt as you. At 63 and still counting, it was worth it. Best of luck.

You have to consider genetics and environmental conditions into the life expectancy equation. That can shift the data towards one side or the other. It is not a cut off date that is equal for everyone. Some live short lives, some live long. It is the average that you are looking at.

KK is right. The single best thing you can do to help expand your life is to exercise in some way. Walking is a good choice for exercise. I walk on average an hour each day just going to and from work. When I did not do that during the first part of the pandemic, I really felt the difference in my heath.

I'm obese. I have a family history of diabetes and cancer. I suffer from major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and likely undiagnosed complex PTSD. I have been geographically separated from my family for two decades. I haven't been in a relationship in over 12 years, and the only one I've ever had was extremely toxic. I barely have any friends. I make under $15K and have no health or dental insurance. I have a life-long history of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse. And my roommate's dog is constantly attacking me.

How's that for genetic and environmental factors?

I see. Indeed, being prone to accidents at young age does lower the average quite a lot... I myself had a lot of broken bones as a kid, and I was also drawn towards water. Fortunately, I was the type of child that took rules seriously. Mom said not to go near the pond behind the chicken house, so I never went near the pond behind the chicken house.

But you got a Master's Degree now. You can get a teaching job with civil service benefits.

Your problems are mostly "environmental," it seems to me. Just because your father had cancer and diabetes----doesn't mean you will get cancer and diabetes.

I happen to be the only man in my family that's ever had prostate cancer.

I would call the ASPCA if I were you. Dogs shouldn't be going around attacking people.

I've had many broken bones in my life, too. That hasn't shortened my life expectancy.

[quote="kraftiekortie"
I would call the ASPCA if I were you. Dogs shouldn't be going around attacking people.
[/quote]

Problem is that will piss off my roommate and she'll kick me out.

If the dog has bitten you, you must get at least a tetanus shot.

It's ridiculous that this person is allowing her dog to attack you.

What in the world is going on in the place where you live, anyway?

Anyway....now you can get a better job with a higher salary, so you can save up and get the heck out of there.

What sort of person is your roommate, anyway?