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Interventions to address health outcomes among autistic adults: A systematic review.

Autism : the international journal of research and practice
August 1, 2020
Teal W Benevides et al. (16 authors)
Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tSystematic ReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to identify intervention studies, including mindfulness-based approaches, that improved health outcomes in autistic adults.

Results Summary

Mindfulness-based approaches showed emerging evidence for improving mental health outcomes, such as reducing anxiety and depression symptoms, in autistic adults. However, the number of supporting studies was limited.

Population

Autistic adults, predominantly male, without intellectual disability, and mostly under 40 years old.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (5)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
cognitive behavioral interventions
increase
mental health outcomes
autistic adults
-
emerging evidence for their use
#1
mindfulness-based approaches
increase
mental health outcomes
autistic adults
-
emerging evidence for their use
#2
-
decrease
symptoms of co-occurring mental health diagnoses
autistic adults
-
reduced
#3
-
decrease
anxiety
autistic adults
-
reduced
#4
-
decrease
depression
autistic adults
-
reduced
#5
Abstract

Autistic adults have more health problems then their same-aged peers. Yet little research has been conducted that focuses on addressing these health problems. In order to guide future research, it is important to know what intervention studies have been done to improve health outcomes among autistic adults. The project team and student assistants read studies that were published between 2007 and 2018 in the online research database, PubMed. We looked for studies published in English, which were peer-reviewed and included (1) an intervention, (2) an outcome that was related to health, and (3) a study group that included autistic adults. We did not include studies that had outcomes about employment (unless there was a health outcome), studies about caregivers or caregiving, or expert opinions about interventions. Of 778 reviewed articles, 19 studies met all of the criteria above. Within these studies, two approaches were found to have emerging evidence for their use in autistic adults: cognitive behavioral interventions and mindfulness-based approaches for improved mental health outcomes. The remaining intervention approaches did not have enough articles to support their use. Many of the outcomes were about reduced symptoms of co-occurring mental health diagnoses (e.g. reduced anxiety, depression). Most of the participants in these studies were male and did not have intellectual disability. Most study participants were adults younger than 40. There are not many intervention studies that address health outcomes among autistic adults. More research is needed on interventions which are desired by the adult autism community and address preferred health outcomes such as increased quality of life or well-being.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
AdultAnxietyAutism Spectrum DisorderAutistic DisorderHealth StatusHumansMaleOutcome Assessment, Health CareQuality of Life
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality65/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations38
Citations/Year7.6
Relative Citation Ratio4.09
NIH Percentile90.5%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score2.25
Normalized Score0.63
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