While an increasing number of girls and women are being identified with autism, we know little about the health of reproductive-aged autistic women. Our objectives were to (1) describe health characteristics of reproductive-aged autistic women who could potentially become pregnant and (2) compare these characteristics with those of non-autistic women. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study using 2017–2018 administrative health data from Ontario, Canada. A total of 6,870 fifteen- to 44-year-old autistic women were identified and compared with 2,686,160 non-autistic women. Variables of interest included social determinants of health (neighborhood income, residential instability, material deprivation, rurality), health (co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions, use of potentially teratogenic medications, history of assault), and health care factors (continuity of primary care). Overall, reproductive-aged autistic women had poorer health compared with non-autistic women, including increased rates of material deprivation, chronic medical conditions, psychiatric conditions, use of potentially teratogenic medications, and history of assault. These findings highlight the need for health interventions tailored to the needs of reproductive-aged autistic women.

Lay abstract

While an increasing number of girls and women are being identified with autism, we know little about reproductive-aged autistic women’s health. This study used administrative data from Ontario, Canada, to compare the health of reproductive-aged autistic women with non-autistic women. Overall, reproductive-aged autistic women had poorer health compared with non-autistic women, including increased rates of material deprivation, chronic medical conditions, psychiatric conditions, history of assault, and use of potentially teratogenic medications (i.e. drugs that can be harmful to the development of an embryo or fetus). These findings suggest that there is a need for health interventions tailored to the needs of reproductive-aged autistic women.

中文翻译：

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安大略省育龄自闭症妇女的健康特征：基于人群的横断面研究

虽然越来越多的女孩和妇女被认定患有自闭症，但我们对育龄自闭症妇女的健康状况知之甚少。我们的目标是（1）描述有可能怀孕的育龄自闭症女性的健康特征，以及（2）将这些特征与非自闭症女性进行比较。我们使用加拿大安大略省 2017 年至 2018 年的行政健康数据进行了一项基于人群的横断面研究。共有 6,870 名 15 至 44 岁的自闭症女性被识别出来，并与 2,686,160 名非自闭症女性进行了比较。感兴趣的变量包括健康的社会决定因素（社区收入、居住不稳定、物质匮乏、农村）、健康（同时发生的医疗和精神疾病、潜在致畸药物的使用、攻击史）和医疗保健因素（初级保健的连续性）。关心）。总体而言，与非自闭症女性相比，育龄自闭症女性的健康状况较差，包括物质匮乏、慢性疾病、精神疾病、使用潜在致畸药物和攻击史的比例增加。这些发现强调需要针对育龄自闭症妇女的需求量身定制健康干预措施。

外行摘要

虽然越来越多的女孩和妇女被确定患有自闭症，但我们对育龄自闭症妇女的健康知之甚少。这项研究使用加拿大安大略省的行政数据来比较育龄自闭症女性与非自闭症女性的健康状况。总体而言，与非自闭症女性相比，育龄自闭症女性的健康状况较差，包括物质匮乏率增加、慢性疾病、精神疾病、攻击史以及使用潜在致畸药物（即可能对胎儿有害的药物）。胚胎或胎儿的发育）。这些发现表明，需要针对育龄自闭症妇女的需求量身定制健康干预措施。