ArticleMolecular autism2017
Clinical evaluation of autistic symptoms in women with anorexia nervosa.
Article in Molecular autism, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 108 citations in OpenAlex.
- A scoping review of the relationship between autistic traits and eating disorders: exploring the secondary impact of eating disorders and co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Cognitive Remediation Interventions in Autism Spectrum Condition: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Systematic Review: Overlap Between Eating, Autism Spectrum, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Autism Spectrum Disorder in Anorexia Nervosa: An Updated Literature Review.Current psychiatry reports · 2017Pooled it
- The Relationship Between Interoception, Alexithymia, Autistic Traits and Eating Pathology in Autistic Adults.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Bridging autism and eating disorders: a scoping review on repetitive and restrictive behavioral patterns.Journal of eating disorders · 2026Review
- Underrecognition of Autism and Implications for Adult Psychiatric Practice: A Narrative Review.Cureus · 2026Review
- The thighs have it: evidence for the importance of lower body regions in female body size judgments.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Social camouflaging of autistic traits is associated with more severe symptoms among subjects with feeding and eating disorders.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2025Article
- A pilot study investigating the acceptability and feasibility of a group intervention for parents of autistic young people with anorexia nervosa within a specialist eating disorders service.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Barriers and facilitators to treatment in severe and enduring eating disorders: a mixed-methods study of access, engagement, and lived experience.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Eating Disorder and Autism Collaborative project outline: promoting eating disorder research embedded in a neurodiversity-affirming culture.BJPsych bulletin · 2025Review
- "From That Moment, Everything has Changed": The Experience of Women With Anorexia Nervosa Receiving a Diagnosis of Autism.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2025Article
- Neuroimaging insights into brain mechanisms of early-onset restrictive eating disorders.Nature. Mental health · 2025Article
- The Sensory Landscape and Embodied Experiences in Anorexia Nervosa Treatment: An Inpatient Sensory Ethnography.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Camouflaging, not sensory processing or autistic identity, predicts eating disorder symptoms in autistic adults.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2024Article
- A qualitative evaluation of the pathway for eating disorders and autism developed from clinical experience (PEACE): clinicians' perspective.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Exploring the role of autistic traits and eating disorder psychopathology on mentalising ability in the general population.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- More than an outcome: a person-centered, ecological framework for eating disorder recovery.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
- "Work WITH us": a Delphi study about improving eating disorder treatment for autistic women with anorexia nervosa.Journal of eating disorders · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite a suggested link between anorexia nervosa (AN) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), previous studies have used self-report or diagnostic criteria to assess for ASD in AN populations, rather than direct observation of symptom characteristic of ASD. The aim of this study was to use a standardised, clinical assessment of ASD, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2), to investigate the presence of autistic symptoms in a cross-sectional sample of women with AN.
methodsSixty women were recruited from inpatient or day-patient specialist eating disorder services. Each participant underwent the ADOS-2 assessment and completed a set of self-report questionnaires assessing eating disorder pathology and other psychiatric symptoms. IQ was also assessed.
resultsFourteen women (23.3%) scored above clinical cutoff for ASD on the ADOS-2. Only eight of these women displayed repetitive or restrictive behaviours, while all 14 had difficulties with social affect. Elevated ASD symptoms were associated with increased alexithymia and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, but not specific eating disorder pathology.
conclusionsASD symptoms are over-represented in women with severe AN and appear to be associated with other psychiatric symptoms, which warrant further investigation and consideration in treatment.
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