Researchers are calling for improved diagnosis, prevention and treatment of psychiatric illness among autistic people after finding they are at a higher risk of self-harm and suicide than non-autistic people.

“We think psychiatric diagnosis plays a very important role in explaining these increased risks,” said lead author Dr. Meng-Chuan Lai, a staff psychiatrist and senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

The new study, conducted by CAMH and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), found that autistic females had an 83 per cent increased risk of self-harm than non-autistic females.

Autistic males had a 47 per cent higher risk of self-harm than non-autistic males.

The researchers also found that deaths by suicide were “rare,” but autistic people were still at higher risk and that psychiatric disorders were a factor.

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Global News
August 10, 2023