BackgroundStudies have shown that there are overlapping traits and symptoms between autism and psychosis but no study to date has addressed this association from an epidemiological approach in the adult general population. Furthermore, it is not clear whether autistic traits are associated with specific symptoms of psychosis or with psychosis in general. We assess these associations for the first time by using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) 2007 and the APMS 2014, predicting an association between autistic traits and probable psychosis, and specific associations between autistic traits and paranoia and strange experiences.MethodsParticipants (N = 7353 in 2007 and 7500 in 2014) completed the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire (PSQ) and a 20-item version of the Autism Quotient (AQ-20). Binomial logistic regressions were performed using AQ-20 as the independent variable and probable psychosis and specific symptoms as dependent variables.ResultsIn the APMS 2007 dataset, significant associations were found between autism traits and probable psychosis, paranoia, thought insertion, and strange experiences. These results were replicated in APMS 2014 but with the additional significant association between autistic traits and hallucinations. Participants in the highest quartile of the AQ-20, compared with the lowest quartile, had an increased risk of probable psychosis of odds ratio (OR) = 15.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.57–52.6] in APMS 2007 and OR = 22.5 (95% CI 7.64–66.3) in APMS 2014.ConclusionsAutistic traits are strongly associated with probable psychosis and psychotic experiences with the exception of mania. Limitations such as the cross-sectional nature of the study are discussed.

中文翻译：

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成人一般人群中自闭症特征与精神病样经历之间的密切关联：2007 年成人精神病发病率调查的流行病学研究和 2014 年 APMS 的复制

背景研究表明，自闭症和精神病之间存在重叠的特征和症状，但迄今为止没有研究从成人一般人群的流行病学方法解决这种关联。此外，尚不清楚自闭症特征是否与精神病的特定症状或一般精神病有关。我们通过使用 2007 年成人精神病发病率调查 (APMS) 和 2014 年 APMS 首次评估这些关联，预测自闭症特征与可能的精神病之间的关联，以及自闭症特征与偏执狂和奇怪经历之间的特定关联。方法参与者（ñ= 2007 年 7353 人，2014 年 7500 人）完成了精神病筛查问卷 (PSQ) 和 20 项版本的自闭症商数 (AQ-20)。使用 AQ-20 作为自变量和可能的精神病和特定症状作为因变量进行二项式逻辑回归。结果在 APMS 2007 数据集中，发现自闭症特征与可能的精神病、偏执狂、思想插入和奇怪经历之间存在显着关联。这些结果在 APMS 2014 中得到了复制，但自闭症特征和幻觉之间存在额外的显着关联。AQ-20 最高四分位数的参与者与最低四分位数相比，在 APMS 2007 和 OR =在 APMS 2014 中为 22.5（95% CI 7.64–66.3）。结论自闭症特征与可能的精神病和精神病经历密切相关，但躁狂症除外。讨论了研究的横截面性质等限制。