Recent research suggests a link between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anorexia nervosa (AN). Individuals with AN show high scores on measures of ASD symptoms, relative to individuals without AN, however, there are currently no studies directly comparing women with AN to women with ASD. The aim of the current study was to examine profiles of ASD symptoms in young women in the acute and recovered stages of AN, women with ASD, and typically developing controls (TD), on both self-report and clinical interview measures. Four groups of participants aged 12–30 years were included (n = 218): AN, recovered AN (REC), ASD, and TD. Group differences on the Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd edition (SRS-2), 10-item Autism Quotient (AQ-10), and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition (ADOS-2) were examined. To explore similarities and differences in specific symptom profiles associated with AN and ASD, individual item endorsement on the ADOS-2 was also examined in AN, REC, and ASD. Across measures, women with ASD showed the highest scores, and TDs the lowest. Generally, individuals with AN and REC showed intermediate levels of ASD symptoms, scoring between the other two groups. However, AN and ASD did not differ on restricted interests and repetitive behaviour subscales. The ADOS-2 item ‘quality of social response’ adequately discriminated between ASD and non-ASD participants. A full diagnostic assessment for ASD was not provided for participants with AN/REC, nor were eating disorders assessed in the ASD group. Therefore, some diagnostic overlap between groups is possible. The cross-sectional design is another limitation. The results suggest similarities in scores on both self-report and clinical interview measures in AN and ASD. However, individual ADOS-2 item analyses also revealed subtle differences, particularly in reciprocal social interaction. ASD symptoms may be a combination of both state and trait features in AN.

中文翻译：

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神经性厌食症的自闭症症状：与患有自闭症谱系障碍的女性的比较研究

最近的研究表明自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 和神经性厌食症 (AN) 之间存在联系。相对于没有 AN 的个体，患有 AN 的个体在 ASD 症状的测量中表现出高分，但是，目前没有研究直接将患有 AN 的女性与患有 ASD 的女性进行比较。本研究的目的是在自我报告和临床访谈测量中检查处于 AN 急性期和恢复期的年轻女性、患有 ASD 的女性以及通常发展为对照 (TD) 的 ASD 症状的概况。包括四组 12-30 岁的参与者 (n = 218)：AN、恢复的 AN (REC)、ASD 和 TD。对社会反应量表第 2 版 (SRS-2)、10 项自闭症商数 (AQ-10) 和自闭症诊断观察计划第 2 版 (ADOS-2) 的组间差异进行了检查。为了探索与 AN 和 ASD 相关的特定症状特征的相似性和差异，还在 AN、REC 和 ASD 中检查了 ADOS-2 上的单个项目背书。在各项指标中，患有 ASD 的女性得分最高，而 TD 得分最低。一般来说，患有 AN 和 REC 的个体表现出中等水平的 ASD 症状，评分介于其他两组之间。然而，AN 和 ASD 在限制性兴趣和重复行为分量表上没有差异。ADOS-2 项目“社会反应的质量”充分区分了 ASD 和非 ASD 参与者。没有为患有 AN/REC 的参与者提供 ASD 的完整诊断评估，也没有在 ASD 组中评估饮食失调。因此，组之间的一些诊断重叠是可能的。横截面设计是另一个限制。结果表明，AN 和 ASD 中自我报告和临床访谈测量的得分相似。然而，个别 ADOS-2 项目分析也揭示了细微的差异，特别是在互惠的社会互动中。ASD 症状可能是 AN 中状态和特征特征的组合。