Autism May Increase the Risk of Diabetes, Heart Disease

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ASPartOfMe
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31 Jan 2023, 10:42 am

Healthline

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People with autism spectrum disorder have a higher risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease, according to a review of studiesTrusted Source published today in JAMA Pediatrics.

Researchers used 34 studies that included 276,173 participants with autism and 7,733,306 individuals without the condition.

Overall, the researchers said they found that people with autism had a higher risk of developing diabetes, dyslipidemia, and heart disease.

However, they said there wasn’t any evidence of an increased risk of high blood pressure or stroke.

The studies included children and adults with autism, but the chances of developing diabetes and hypertension were higher among children with autism.

The details from the findings included:

Individuals with autism had a 57% higher risk of developing diabetes as compared to people without autism – the risk was 64% higher for type 1 diabetes, 146% higher for type 2 diabetes.

The risk of developing dyslipidemia was 69% higher in people with autism than in those without it.

The risk of developing atherosclerotic heart disease was nearly 46% higher in individuals with autism.

Triglyceride levels were significantly higher in people with autism.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and cholesterol levels were not significantly different in people with autism when compared to those without autism.

HDL or “good cholesterol” was significantly lower in those with autism.

People with autism did not have an increased risk of macrovascular disease.

The researchers noted that the higher risk of type 1 diabetes was likely due to an increased risk of autoimmune diseases in people with autism.

According to the researchers, it is possible that the increase in the likelihood of cardiometabolic diseases could be attributed to people with autism’s tendency to have a shorter life span.

Therefore, studies of older people could have an underrepresentation of individuals with autism.

Behavior and lifestyle factors that could influence the higher risk of heart disease include:

Food selectivity, especially if non-healthy foods are preferred foods
Physical limitations leading to less activity
Sedentary behaviors
Sleep disturbances
A side effect of medications, such as atypical antipsychotics, sometimes used to modify challenging behaviors.

“I am not surprised by the study results. The difficulty of getting children to eat right is multiplied by ten when you have an autistic child,” said Dr. Carlo Zeidenweber, a pediatrician and pediatric cardiologist at KIDZ Medical Services.

“As a society, we have come a long way in understanding autism,” he told Healthline. “The diagnosis doesn’t automatically indicate a poor outcome. We now have speech, physical, and occupational therapy to help children learn skills and coping mechanisms. But eating difficulties are still challenging, and it can be exhausting for parents.”


As usual the tension and anxiety of living in a non autistic world was not mentioned as possible factors. These increase the risk of a number of diseases. Also it is well known that people eat poorly when tense, anxious, and depressed. Poor eating does increase risk of bad health.


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IsabellaLinton
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31 Jan 2023, 11:35 am

My first thought was "same foods", which tend to be bland carbs.
Anxiety and autoimmune issues make sense too.



Summer_Twilight
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31 Jan 2023, 11:42 am

First of all, be really careful when it comes to receiving anything from the media like that because they can make things sound true when they aren't. Additionally, news sources will take an empirical article as a source and use a few words, and then write a story that will grab the attention of the public. Finally, if there are no citations to back up the article, watch out.



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31 Jan 2023, 11:56 am

And people wonder why I call autism a disease and a curse. :roll:

Cheers, that's me up the doctors again soon, just to check that I haven't got any deadly diseases due to my 'autism'. I've probably got heart disease without even knowing it.

:roll:

ASPartOfMe why do you have to keep posting this s**t?


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31 Jan 2023, 1:46 pm

I posted it because of the claim it was a Meta study with with over 7,000,000 participant's posted in JAMA. Did not sound like a quack study to me.

Here is the link to the journal article
Association Between Autism Spectrum Disorders and Cardiometabolic Diseases
You need a subscription for full text but the Key Points and Abstract are public.

In my comment I questioned the implication that Autism causes these diseases.


The question has been why I post these type and other difficult to read articles. It is not because I am a masochist or a sadist trying to give myself or you PTSD. My first reaction upon seeing this article was not again. I also post articles where autistics accomplish things. Unlike the negative articles I post these get little reaction.

Autistics are people and thus have bad things happen. All people belong to groups who have risk for things. Autistics have specific risks. It good to be aware or to be reminded of these things so you can take measures to lesson these risks and that is why I post these type articles. I post the positive articles not because I expect you to accomplish those things but to demonstrate or remind you that despite the risks autism is not an automatic sentence to doom.

If you want Autistic life sugarcoated or are at a point in your life where you can’t handle bad news I am not the member to read.


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Joe90
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31 Jan 2023, 3:24 pm

Autoimmune diseases scare me and knowing I am "at higher risk" of developing it because of my brain being wired a little bit differently just makes me want to put a gun to my head.

Did it say why we're "at higher risk" to this (sorry, I can't read articles as they're written in a way I can never understand and completely lack context)? Are there any contributing factors to this? Does it only apply to "severe low-functioning" autistic people? Does autism make these diseases suddenly occur in a healthy adult in their 30s?

When I first got diagnosed with this s**t my parents were told that Asperger's is not a disease and that it can't kill you. There's never been any special diets I've had to do in order to keep me from developing these diseases. Physical conditions are more common in downs syndrome but I never ever heard of autism coming with physical health conditions until I came here.

Quote:
If you want Autistic life sugarcoated or are at a point in your life where you can’t handle bad news I am not the member to read.


You're not wrong. But the title draws me to it. Lessen the words in the title to make it less frightening and add a trigger warning, then I'll be less likely to want to read it.

Quote:
Results suggest that the associated increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases should prompt clinicians to vigilantly monitor individuals with autism for potential contributors, signs of cardiometabolic disease, and their complications.

I suppose I'm going to be receiving letters in the post from the NHS making me attend regular medical appointments like I'm an ill 80-year-old because of a f*****g different brain wiring. Sounds like absolute bollocks to me.

Edit: just thrown my phone across the room in a blind panic. Phone is not harmed, thank God.


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31 Jan 2023, 4:14 pm

I’m a 62 year old autistic person who doesn’t have diabetes or heart disease.

It’s good to look after your health, and not to panic.



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31 Jan 2023, 4:24 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I’m a 62 year old autistic person who doesn’t have diabetes or heart disease.

It’s good to look after your health, and not to panic.


Well I don't drink alcohol or smoke, so that's a good start. I do eat a lot but don't most people? The UK has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world. I'm not classed as obese but I could lose a bit of weight, which I will. I don't think AS causes me to overeat though, it's a trap a lot of people can easily fall into.

Anxiety and autoimmune disorders is what frightens me the most. I see all my peers abusing their bodies with alcohol and drugs, yet I don't do any of those but am ''more at risk'' of having an autoimmune disease and diabetes, which will make me an even more boring person than what I already am. I do feel dull and boring when I go to social events and refuse to get drunk or high, but not being able to eat party food at social events because of all these immune diseases will make me even more boring and socially isolated. :cry:


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31 Jan 2023, 4:39 pm

I eat anything I want, though I could stand to eat a bit less.

I don’t smoke or drink.



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31 Jan 2023, 5:32 pm

As someone with family history of diabetes, I already have precautionary measures and plans against diabetes by learning plenty from others.

From my relatives especially, from what I had observed, is mainly due to discipline issues, crappy habits and their preferred diets.

And I don't have good self control in stress.
Sometimes I stress eat. And when I'm stressed, I'm not exactly keen on trying new things.


It helps more or less that sugar does visibly affects me behaviorally.
It gives me less executive functions -- it makes me "more autistic" in a negative way.

Yeah, I start by jumping off the sugar addiction.
I already eliminated caffeine, already lost the habit of eating bread and junkfoods, and in a process of eliminating chocolates. :cry:

It's a very gradual process for me and still learning how to cope with it first before going long term for good.
Eventually that's when I'd learn how to make my pallette learn how to acquire tastes of healthier foods.

I never smoke. I've only drunk a few. I'm also habitually physically active...


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31 Jan 2023, 6:15 pm

It does look a tad alarming at first glance, but at my age I've had to get used to being at a higher risk of getting something nasty. More generally, I think it mostly underscores the importance of healthy eating and exercise. Seems wise to be sure of getting enough niacin (supposed to help bring the triglycerides down) - mushrooms, lentils, soya milk and flour are fairly rich in that. But don't go too mad - the recommended safe level is only just over twice the recommended daily intake, according to some sources, and there are side effects of getting too much. Try not to be overweight. Try to avoid too much stress (easier said than done especially for people whose lives aren't so much under their own control, but there's often something that can be done if it's taken seriously and thoughtfully worked on). So all in all, no special interventions, nothing that wouldn't make sense for the general population to also do.

In a sense I wish my GP would contact me about a few tests in the light of concerns about my well-being as an Aspie, but the practice doesn't seem interested in the condition. It could be annoying if it was - I keep getting invited for heart screening and flu jabs but somehow I think it would be a waste of time. Anyway, they can't force patients to do anything, so I think it's better to be invited to get these things done than to be left to the wolves.

It's possible that the story might turn out to be a load of rubbish, but I'd be surprised if they'd made up those numbers, and some of them do look rather large. And I'm used to taking everything I hear about with a pinch of salt. Even rigorous-looking research is sometimes overturned. Doesn't mean to say that being aware of it is a bad thing, but I suppose it depends on the individual's disposition.

Hmm.....this bit seems rather muddled to me:
According to the researchers, it is possible that the increase in the likelihood of cardiometabolic diseases could be attributed to people with autism’s tendency to have a shorter life span.
Seems to be the wrong way round - surely it should read "it is possible that people with autism’s tendency to have a shorter life span could be attributed to the increase in the likelihood of cardiometabolic diseases" ??

This bit made more sense:
Therefore, studies of older people could have an underrepresentation of individuals with autism.
Except that the word "therefore" would be more appropriate if it referred simply to the fact of our shorter life expectancy.

Am I right, or have I misunderstood something that was expressed in an entirely clear way?



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01 Feb 2023, 2:05 pm

I have cardiac issues but the cardiologists say the one that required surgery was congenital...and it may have caused other issues. So, in my case, I don't know whether my cardiac issues are related to Autism, or not.

But I'm pretty sure Autism made my life more stressful and is likely to cause ongoing stress for other Autistics, too. It seems unlikely to me that a lifetime of increased stress has no affect on the individual's health.


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03 Feb 2023, 9:17 am

My brother has diabetes and my mom is prediabetic so I am a little careful. They're not autistic. But they love sweet things which I don't like. I have always liked green veggies and disliked sweets, even as a toddler. I hope that's good enough. Everyone has to go sometime. Worrying about risks is not the way to enjoy life.


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05 Feb 2023, 2:10 am

For those who do not even have a time to stand up;


Can be an excuse for being weird. :lol:


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