Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33200352›Full record

SynthesisJournal of autism and developmental disorders2021

A Meta-analysis of Outcome Studies of Autistic Adults: Quantifying Effect Size, Quality, and Meta-regression.

David Mason, Simone J Capp, Gavin R Stewart, Matthew J Kempton, Karen Glaser, Patricia Howlin, Francesca Happé

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

53 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Article
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  7. Article
  8. Limited Discrepancy Between Cognitive Ability and Daily Living Skills in Autism: A Longitudinal Study From Ages 2-25.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
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  15. Review
  16. The inner life of autism: a call to action.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
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

7 authors.

David MasonSocial, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK. david.3.mason@kcl.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1382-4688
Simone J CappSocial, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Gavin R StewartSocial, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Matthew J KemptonDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, Camberwell, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Karen GlaserDepartment of Global Health & Science Medicine, King's College London, Bush House North East Wing, 30 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4BG, UK.
Patricia HowlinDepartment of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, Camberwell, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Francesca HappéSocial, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Longitudinal studies have generally reported poor outcomes in adulthood for the majority of individuals (c.50-60%) with autism. Several factors putatively predict outcome (e.g. IQ), but findings remain mixed. This paper presents an updated meta-analysis of autism outcome studies and extends previous findings with additional analyses (including meta-regression). A total of 4088 records was screened and 18 studies, involving 1199 individuals, were included in the quantitative analysis. Estimated percentages indicated that 20.0% of participants were rated as having a good outcome, 26.6% a fair outcome, and 49.3% a poor outcome. Meta-regression indicated that lower IQ in adulthood was predictive of poor outcome; other meta-regression models did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Overall, outcomes for autistic people are on average poor, and higher IQ appears to be protective against having a poor outcome. The limitations of current constructs of outcome are discussed.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderAutistic DisorderAdultHumansOutcome Assessment, Health CareAutism spectrum disorderFunctioningMeta-analysisOutcome

Identifiers

PMID33200352
PMCPMC8349337

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.