Study warns of hidden autism crisis among UK's over-40s

Worries undiagnosed may have higher rates of serious illness

- 

The majority of autistic people over the age of 40 in the UK are living without a diagnosis, a study suggests.

This could make them “more susceptible to age-related problems” and socially isolated in older age, researchers warned.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition and causes people to interact differently to others.

Those with the condition may get anxious in social situations, seem blunt, and struggle to understand what others are thinking or feeling.

For the study, published in the Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, experts at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London re-analysed research on UK healthcare record data from 2018.