This study used a twin cohort to investigate the association of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autistic traits with somatic health. A total of 344 twins (172 pairs; mean age 15.56 ± 5.62 years) enriched for ASD and other neurodevelopmental conditions were examined. Medical history and current physical problems were collected with a validated questionnaire to determine twin’s somatic health. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2) was used to measure the participant’s severity of autistic traits. Identified somatic health issues with significant within-twin pair differences were tested in relation to both ASD diagnosis and autistic traits in a co-twin control model. Twins with ASD exhibited more neurological and immunological health problems compared to those without ASD (p = 0.005 and p = 0.004, respectively). The intra-pair differences of neurological conditions and SRS-2 score were significantly correlated in monozygotic twins differing for autism traits (r = 0.40, p = 0.001), while the correlation was not found for immunological problems. In addition, a conditional model for analysis of within-twin pair effects revealed an association between neurological problems and clinical ASD diagnosis (Odds ratio per neurological problem 3.15, p = 0.02), as well as autistic traits (β = 10.44, p = 0.006), after adjusting for possible effects of co-existing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and general intellectual abilities. Our findings suggest that neurological problems are associated with autism, and that non-shared environmental factors contribute to the overlap for both clinical ASD and autistic traits. Further population-based twin studies are warranted to validate our results and examine in detailed the shared genetic and environmental contributions of neurological problems and ASD.

这项研究使用双生子队列研究了自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）和自闭症特征与躯体健康的关系。总共检查了344对双胞胎（172对；平均年龄为15.56±5.62岁），这些人富含ASD和其他神经发育状况。病历和当前的身体问题与经过验证的问卷一起收集，以确定双胞胎的身体健康状况。使用社交反应量表（SRS-2）来衡量参与者的自闭症特征严重程度。在双胞胎对照模型中，测试了在双胞胎对之间存在显着差异的已确定的躯体健康问题，与ASD诊断和自闭症特征相关。与没有ASD的双胞胎相比，患有ASD的双胞胎表现出更多的神经和免疫健康问题（分别为p = 0.005和p = 0.004）。成年双胞胎自闭症性状的差异（r = 0.40，p = 0.001）与成年双胞胎的神经系统状况和SRS-2评分之间存在显着相关性，而免疫学问题未发现相关性。此外，用于分析双胞胎对效应的条件模型揭示了神经系统问题和临床ASD诊断之间的关联（每个神经系统问题的赔率3.15，p = 0.02），以及自闭性特征（β= 10.44，p = 0.006） ），并调整并存的注意力缺陷多动障碍和一般智力的可能影响。我们的发现表明神经系统问题与自闭症有关，并且非共有的环境因素导致临床ASD和自闭症特征的重叠。