SynthesisFrontiers in psychology2025
The relationships between anxiety, psychotic-like experiences and autism: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Editorial: Anxiety in autistic people: moving the needle.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Negative affect and psychotic-like experiences in social workers: mechanisms and the buffering role of mindfulness.Frontiers in psychiatry · 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
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Research has suggested that anxiety may be responsible for the elevated levels of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) seen in Autism. However, there has been no previous systematic review examining this relationship. Method: We conducted three separate searches of PubMed and Ovid (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Global Health and EMBASE) until 31st June 2024 for articles reporting on the association between anxiety, Autism and PLEs. A total of 54 articles were reviewed, including research exploring the links between anxiety and PLEs (28 studies), Autism and PLEs (12 studies), Autism and anxiety (14 systematic reviews and meta-analyses). Results: Studies of Anxiety and PLEs: Thirteen reported a significant positive correlation, and ten studies indicated that individuals with anxiety were more likely to experience PLEs. Studies of Autism and PLEs: Seven identified a significant positive correlation, with three longitudinal studies reporting that autistic traits predicted PLEs. Studies of Autism and Anxiety: Seven reviews revealed increased prevalence rates of anxiety disorders among autistic individuals, while 9 identified potential mediators of this relationship, such as intolerance of uncertainty and IQ. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the association of PLEs with Autism and anxiety disorders, suggesting that co-occurring Autism and anxiety may represent an at-risk group for psychosis. Such insights have important implications for psychosis prevention, indicating that anxiety intervention in autistic populations may reduce PLE incidence. However, application of these findings to autistic individuals is significantly limited by the lack of included studies utilizing clinical populations. Future research is needed to establish the causal role of anxiety in this relationship, particularly using clinical adult samples. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024555930.
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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.