SynthesisNeuropsychology review2025
Is There a Bias Towards Males in the Diagnosis of Autism? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Neuropsychology review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 3 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
57 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Does the Extreme Male Brain Hypothesis of Autism Apply More to Females Than Males? A Systematic and Meta-Analytic Approach.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise dose architecture as a precision-informed developmental framework in autism spectrum disorder: a narrative review of mechanisms, sex- and development-related heterogeneity, and clinical translation.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- A meta-analytic review of quantification methods for camouflaging behaviors in autistic and neurotypical individuals.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Co-occurring Conditions and Quality of Life in Autistic Children Attending General Education or Special Education Schools.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Item-Level Sex Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder Measures: A MIMIC Model Analysis of ADOS-2 and ADI-R in a Referred Pediatric Sample.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Diametrically opposed sex-specific effects of autistic traits on risk-taking in poker.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2026Article
- Using eye tracking to explore the relationship between autism traits, joint attention, cognition and adaptive functioning in preschool children.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2026Article
- Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare Among Youth With Autism and ADHD: A Population-Based Study From Sweden.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Preservation of Higher-Order Cognition in Autistic Females: Evidence from Two Deeply-Phenotyped Cohorts in Hong Kong and the United States.Research square · 2026Article
- Are There Sex or Gender Differences in Autistic Characteristics? An Umbrella Systematic Review.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Gender-Based Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence From an Indian Clinical Cohort.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Burden of Co-occurring Conditions and Perinatal Predictors of Epilepsy in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1015 Children From Northwestern Mexico.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- The "Dual Masking Phenomenon": A Critical Autoethnography of an Autistic Multiracial Latina Amid the Presence of White Autistic Researchers and Self-Advocates.Autism in adulthood · 2026Article
- Sex Differences in Psychopathology and Neurocognition in Community Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- Impaired behavioral inhibition in Fmr1 KO mice is linked to disrupted visual cortex theta oscillations.Cell reports · 2026Article
- Assessing Camouflaging in Adolescence: Psychometric Evaluation of the German Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q/DE).Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Understanding Sex and Gender Effects on Autism Spectrum Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Clinical Presentation and Risk Factors.Biological psychiatry global open science · 2026Review
- Prdm15 Deficiency Results in Impaired Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Autism-Like Behaviors.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2026Article
- Untangling Sex and Gender Differences in Impression Management and Associated Autism Features in French Autistic Adults.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Impulsivity, Anxiety and Internet Addiction in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Moderated Mediation Model.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Autism is more frequently diagnosed in males, with evidence suggesting that females are more likely to be misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. Possibly, the male/female ratio imbalance relates to phenotypic and camouflaging differences between genders. Here, we performed a comprehensive approach to phenotypic and camouflaging research in autism addressed in two studies. First (Study 1 - Phenotypic Differences in Autism), we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of gender differences in autism phenotype. The electronic datasets Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsychInfo were searched. We included 67 articles that compared females and males in autism core symptoms, and in cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioural phenotypes. Autistic males exhibited more severe symptoms and social interaction difficulties on standard clinical measures than females, who, in turn, exhibited more cognitive and behavioural difficulties. Considering the hypothesis of camouflaging possibly underlying these differences, we then conducted a meta-analysis of gender differences in camouflaging (Study 2 - Camouflaging Differences in Autism). The same datasets as the first study were searched. Ten studies were included. Females used more compensation and masking camouflage strategies than males. The results support the argument of a bias in clinical procedures towards males and the importance of considering a 'female autism phenotype'-potentially involving camouflaging-in the diagnostic process.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.