Are Autistic Traits Elevated and Linked to Functional Outcomes Among People with Parkinson’s Disease?

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A growing body of research suggests a link between autism and parkinsonism, the set of motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although prior studies report increased prevalence of parkinsonism symptoms among middle-aged and older autistic adults, limited research has explored the presence of autistic traits and their influence on real-world outcomes in people with PD. Therefore, the present study examined: (1) self-rated autistic traits using the Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory (CATI) in middle-aged and older adults with PD without a known autism diagnosis (n=164, 40-91 years) compared to a comparably aged neurotypical (NT) group (n=155, 40-88 years); (2) the onset of these autistic traits by querying whether endorsed traits were either always present, pre-existing but increasing, or newly emerging, and finally; (3) associations between autistic traits and key outcome metrics in PD. The PD and NT groups did not differ in their self-ratings of overall autistic traits; however, people with PD were more likely to endorse increasing autistic traits. Autistic trait ratings were associated with all key outcome metrics (i.e., motor and non-motor PD symptoms, mental health, subjective quality of life, activities of daily living, and subjective cognition) in the PD group. In particular, increasing autistic traits were linked to greater PD symptoms, lower subjective quality of life, greater anxiety symptoms, and increased reports of subjective cognitive decline. Although overall autistic traits were not elevated for people with PD, this group did report more pre-existing autistic traits that had increased, which were in turn linked to more detrimental functional outcomes.

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