Autism not linked with increasing age-Related Cognitive Decline, Finds Study

Autism not linked with increasing age-Related Cognitive Decline, Finds Study


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There is no differentce over time in the spatial working memory of older people who have from autistic traits and those who are neurotypical, finds a new study LED by UCL Researches.

The new research, Published in The GerontologistIs the first study to explore age-rested rate of decline in spatial working memory in older people who have mayed be autistic.

Spatial Working Memory Helps People to Remember and Use Information about where things are and how they are arranged. It is typically used for tasks that involve navigating spaces or organizing objects.

As People get older, spatial working memory can sometimes become less effective, which is an example of cognitive declinee.

This decline can be a part of normal aging, but it can also be more pronounced in conditions like alzheimer’s disease.

Spatial Working Memory Can also be affected in Autistic People – Compecially when it comes to tasks that involve remumbering and organizing visual information. Conseaquently, there has previously been debate over wheether autism may lead to Increased Risk of Cognitive Decline and, by Extension, Future Dementia.

For the new study, the research team used data from 10,060 people over the age of 50 in the uk who had been assessed as having autistic traits – Such as Difical Communization and Interaction, Restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests – form the protect study.

They found that 1.5% of the cohort had high levels of autistic traits and may be autistic, which is Comparable to Prevalence Estimates of Autism in the general population.

The team analyzed this data using a method called mixture modeling to see how participants’ Spatical Working Memory Changed Over a Seven-Yaar Period.

The Findings of the Study Showed that Most People, Whether they had high levels of autistic traits or not, maintened their cognitive ability over time. This suggested that autistic people were not more likely to experience cognitive decline in this domain.

Corresponding Author, Professor Joshua Stott (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) Said, “Autism is a neurodeVeLopmental conditioned with associal communication and different Repetitive patterns of sensory motor behaviors.

“It is knowledge that autistic people often also have cognitive differences relative to non-autestic people. In light of this and a current global world health organization-line Focus on Prevention of Prevention Cognitive Decline and Dementia, there has been consigeable interest in whither having a neurodevelopmental condition like Autism Can Affect your Risk of Age-Related Cognitive Decculine, and POTENCILY DeMentia.

“Our work provides no support for any difference between autistic people and neurotypical people in terms of increasing risk of age-related coganitive decline.

“While there limitations and more studies are needed, looking directly at other aspects of cognitive decline and dementia risk in the Community Rather Rather Records Samples, this Research Provids uses Evidence that can only help to ressure autistic people about this concerning issue. “

Previous research has indicated that there may be higher dementia rates in older adults with autism.

However, these studies, which look at health care records, are hindred by the very low diagnostic rate of autism in older people (around one in nine adults Over the age of 50 is diagnade in the usage) That they only look at a very particular and small subsample of autistic people, who probally have more health care differenties and consequant are at greatness of Dementia Than Autistan in Autistan in Georing.

Meanwhile, other studies that support theory that autism has no extra effect (Neurotypical) People at a Single Time Point – Carther Than Tracking Changes Over Time.

Senior Author Dr. Gavin Stewart, British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King at King at King At King AT King’s College London, Said, Said, “Undrtanding How Autstanding Interts Intertes Important Yet UndersTudied Topic.

“As Autistic People Can Be At Greater Risk of Certain Health Problems and Have Cognitive Differences to Non-Autistic People, We Need to Know Whether Autistic Peeple will have done Patterns of aging than their non-autistic peers.

“This study provides some ressuring evidence that some aspects of cognition change similar in autistic and non-unional population.”

Future Studies Should Test People for a longer time and include a wider age range to understand memory changes better. These findings also need to be replicated in Samples who Meet Diagnostic Criteria for Autism.

Study Limitations

The Study only involved people who could use a computer and the internet, so it might not reported all older adults in the uk.

Meanwhile, the test for autistic traits mainly looked at social and communication issues, not other autism-Related behaviors, which might affect the results.

And Most Participants was white, so the findings might not apply to people from other ethnic backgrounds.

More information:
Saloni Ghai et al, The Association Between Autism Spectrum Traits and Age-Related Spatiial Working Memory Decline: A Large-Scale Longitudinal Study, The Gerontologist (2025). Doi: 10.1093/Geront/GNAF096

Provided by University College London


Citation: Autism not linked with Increased Age-Related Cognitive Decline, Finds Study (2025, April 24) RetrieVed 24 April 2025 from

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