Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30399531›Full record

SynthesisEuropean psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists2019

Investigating alexithymia in autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Emma Kinnaird, Catherine Stewart, Kate Tchanturia

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 234 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
234citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
15.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

234 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 488 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Trial
  8. Feasibility Study of a Novel App-Based Anxiety Intervention for Autistic People.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026
    Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Depressive Symptoms in Autistic Youth with Anxiety Disorders.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP · 2023
    Trial
  11. Trial
  12. A Reliable Effect of Alexithymia, but Not Autism, on Placebo Hypoalgesia.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Navigating Mixed-Neurotype Dialogue: Environmental and Affective Influences on Autistic Speakers.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2026
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

174 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Emma KinnairdKing's College London, London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, UK.
Catherine StewartKing's College London, London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, UK; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Kate TchanturiaKing's College London, London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, UK; South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Illia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia. Electronic address: kate.tchanturia@kcl.ac.uk.
King's College London · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/N013700/1Medical Research Council MR/R004595/1Medical Research Council MR/S020381/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNew research suggests that, rather than representing a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), emotional processing difficulties reflect co-occurring alexithymia. Autistic individuals with alexithymia could therefore represent a specific subgroup of autism who may benefit from tailored interventions. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the nature and prevalence of alexithymia in autism using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS).

methodsOnline scientific databases were searched systematically for studies on ASD popu lations using the TAS. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate differences in scores between the ASD and neurotypical groups, and to determine the prevalence of alexithymia in these populations.

results15 articles comparing autistic and neurotypical (NT) groups were identified. Autistic people scored significantly higher on all scores compared to the NT group. There was also a higher prevalence of alexithymia in the ASD group (49.93% compared to 4.89%), with a significantly increased risk of alexithymia in autistic participants.

conclusionsThis review highlights that alexithymia is common, rather than universal, in ASD, supporting a growing body of evidence that co-occurring autism and alexithymia represents a specific subgroup in the ASD population that may have specific clinical needs. More research is needed to understand the nature and implications of co-occurring ASD and alexithymia.

Indexed as

Affective SymptomsAutistic DisorderEmotional AdjustmentPsychological TestsAdolescentAdultComorbidityFemaleHumansMalePrevalenceAutismPsychometry and assessments in psychiatry (tests)

Identifiers

PMID30399531
PMCPMC6331035
OpenAlexW2899269258

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.