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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

SO447

Reproductive health problems in autistic and non-autistic women: a population-based matched cohort study in Sweden

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONDITIONS IN AUTISTIC COMPARED TO NON-AUTISTIC FEMALES – A POPULATION-BASED MATCHED COHORT STUDY IN SWEDEN

Autistic women have a significantly higher risk of most reproductive health problems; the strongest association is with perimenopausal depression, whereas infertility diagnoses are less common in this group.

The aim was to provide robust population-based evidence by comparing reproductive health problems in autistic and non-autistic women. Swedish national registers identified 37,807 women born between 1965 and 2005 who had received an autism diagnosis (median age at diagnosis: 19.2 years). Each was matched with 10 non-autistic women born in the same year, yielding a total sample of N=415,877; national and regional primary care registers were screened for reproductive health diagnoses across 12 ICD-based categories between the ages of 15 and 55. Cumulative incidence was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and the groups were compared using Cox regression, with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs); analyses were adjusted for birth year and additionally for co-occurring ADHD. Throughout follow-up, cumulative incidence was higher among autistic women for almost all reproductive health problems except infertility. In the model adjusted for birth year, the strongest associations were found for perimenopausal depression (HR=2.73; 95% CI 2.50–2.99), endometriosis (HR=1.86; 95% CI 1.66–2.09), premenstrual disorders (HR=1.75; 95% CI 1.67–1.83), and dysmenorrhea (HR=1.71; 95% CI 1.65–1.76). Autistic women were less likely to receive an infertility diagnosis (HR=0.54; 95% CI 0.50–0.57). Although the associations were attenuated after adjustment for co-occurring ADHD, most remained statistically significant. In conclusion, autistic women experience a substantially greater burden of reproductive health problems across different stages of their reproductive lives, highlighting the need for increased clinical awareness and reproductive health services tailored to this group.

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