A major UK study has found that while most middle-aged and older adults experience low levels of anxiety,\u00a0a small group of\u00a0people\u00a0with higher autistic traits\u00a0are much more likely to\u00a0report that their anxiety worsens as they age.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The study\u00a0was\u00a0led by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry<\/a>, Psychology\u00a0&\u00a0Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London\u00a0and University College London and published in Nature Mental Health.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions and is especially prevalent among autistic people.\u00a0It has also been\u00a0identified as one of the top two priorities in autism research\u202fby\u202fautistic people .\u00a0<\/p>\n However, most research to date has focused on children and younger adults. Much less is known about how anxiety develops later in life, particularly for people who may be autistic but have never received a diagnosis<\/a>.\u00a0This gap is important because many older adults with autistic traits\u00a0remain\u00a0undiagnosed \u2013\u00a0King’s\u00a0research has\u00a0estimated\u00a0up to 9 in 10 may not have a formal diagnosis. Without good evidence, health services may struggle to recognise their needs or provide\u00a0appropriate support.\u00a0<\/p>\n Researchers\u00a0analyzed data from the\u00a0PROTECT study,\u00a0a large UK-wide online study of ageing and health\u00a0which included 5,270 adults\u00a0aged 50\u201391 (average age 62).\u00a0The\u00a0PROTECT\u00a0study\u00a0is run by\u00a0King’s College London and the University of Exeter.\u00a0Participants were\u00a0followed up\u00a0over\u00a0eight\u00a0years, with annual\u00a0assessments measuring autistic traits\u00a0and\u00a0general\u00a0anxiety symptoms.\u00a0Instead of looking only at average trends, the team used an advanced statistical method (growth mixture modelling) to\u00a0identify\u00a0different patterns\u00a0of anxiety over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n The researchers\u00a0identified\u00a0three distinct\u00a0groups based on the\u00a0patterns of\u00a0their\u00a0anxiety\u00a0responses\u00a0as people aged:\u00a0<\/p>\n Although this third group was small, it is important because it\u00a0represents\u00a0people whose mental health worsens in later life.\u00a0The findings highlight the importance of early identification of anxiety in\u00a0autistic people and people with high autistic traits.\u00a0<\/p>\n This large study shows that while most people\u00a0maintain\u00a0low anxiety in later life, a vulnerable minority especially those with higher autistic traits, face a growing risk of worsening anxiety. Recognising this early and providing the right support could make a significant difference to mental health and quality of life in older age.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Anxiety is a high priority concern raised by autistic people. Our study found that middle-aged and older adults with high autistic traits were more than four times more likely to develop clinically significant anxiety over time, even after taking other factors into account. They were also twice as likely to experience persistent low-level anxiety than those with low autistic traits. Even mild anxiety should be taken seriously, as it may increase over time.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr.\u00a0Gavin Stewart, senior author and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the IoPPN<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Professor Josh Stott,\u00a0co-senior author and Professor of Ageing and Clinical Psychology at UCL,\u00a0said:\u00a0“It is\u00a0also\u00a0important that clinicians are autism-aware, as many autistic people are likely to be undiagnosed but still needing appropriate help and support for their mental health, particularly as they age.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The researchers suggest several\u00a0possible reasons\u00a0why people with autistic traits may be at greater risk\u00a0including: higher levels of loneliness or social isolation, greater exposure to stress or trauma over the lifetime\u00a0and\u00a0barriers to healthcare, meaning anxiety may go untreated.\u00a0Over time, these factors may combine, leading to worsening mental health as people age.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dr Amber John,\u00a0co-author and Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, said:\u00a0“These\u00a0findings have important implications for healthcare providers and policymakers. There is an urgent need for tailored support for\u00a0autistic\u00a0adults. Researchers,\u00a0clinicians\u00a0and health policymakers should aim to collaborate with autistic people where possible, as their lived experience affords vital insight into their support needs during the transition into midlife and older age.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The study also highlights the potential value of adapted psychological therapies, such as tailored cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT),\u00a0for this group\u00a0which could help prevent mild anxiety from becoming severe.\u00a0<\/p>\n This research was funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust (now\u00a0Vivensa\u00a0Foundation), the British Academy, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the NIHR\u00a0Maudsley\u00a0Biomedical Research Centre,\u00a0the NIHR\u00a0Exeter BRC,\u00a0the NIHR\u00a0Applied Research Collaboration\u00a0(ARC)\u00a0South West, formerly ARC South West Peninsula\u00a0and the NIHR Exeter Clinical Research Facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n Source:<\/p>\n Journal reference:<\/p>\n Eshetu, A., et al. (2026). The association between autistic traits and trajectories of anxiety in middle-aged and older adults: an 8-year growth mixture model analysis. Nature Mental Health. DOI: 10.1038\/s44220-026-00654-0.\u00a0https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s44220-026-00654-0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major UK study has found that while most middle-aged and older adults experience low levels of anxiety,\u00a0a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[434,6128,4103,103,396,61,60,410,87,1703,413,89],"class_list":["post-477783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-anxiety","tag-autism","tag-children","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-neuroscience","tag-psychiatry","tag-psychology","tag-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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