6 ms·

The gender disparity in autism prevalence is one of the big mysteries of autism since genes associated with autism risk are not generally located on the XY sex

The gender disparity in autism prevalence is one of the big mysteries of autism since genes associated with autism risk are not generally located on the XY sex chromosome. There are a number of hypotheses out there for the disparity of prevalence. One hypothesis is that the disparity is more apparent than real: That girls are better at masking/adapting to their symptoms, and thus more frequently escape diagnosis. The first step is to determine the extent to which this is true. If true, the underlying mechanism would need to be understood...some have suggested this could be related to greater inter-hemispheric connectivity in girls.

watwut 6y ago
I think that question is, why are girls better at masking/adapting symptoms? Regardless of whether autism is more prevalent in girls, what it is about being girl that makes you mask better.
- bondarchuk 6y ago
  I've always wondered about this one: symptoms of autism are closer to the expected behaviour of girls than that of boys.
  - Jare 6y ago
    I touched on this in a nearby comment, but: I think that works, but only for the somewhat milder symptoms.
- TeaDrunk 6y ago
  There is significant pressure on girls to behave in a manner that an adult might (quieter, more sociable, smiling, tolerant of situations) and significant pressure not to behave in an outwardly or rowdy manner (stimming, being hyperactive, responding in upset at being overstimulated, responding to sensory displeasure by rejection, etc).
  - watwut 6y ago
    I thought that autistic cant be pressured away from symptoms?
    - vulcan01 6y ago
      I think the parent comment is trying to say that the symptoms can be 'pressured away' by pressuring the child into masking their symptoms.
Jare 6y ago
It would seem to me that masking works to a point (towards the "highly functioning" side of the spectrum), and once you get to the ways in which autism blocks ability to perform certain common behaviours and activities (e.g. non-verbal), the gender percentages should get closer again, because there's no masking to hide them or social expectations that they match. Is this the case?
- nicoburns 6y ago
  I've seen research that suggests that estrogen could mitigate symptoms of autism, which could also explain a gender difference: - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193073/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193073/ - https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/estrogen-reverses-autism-like-features-in-mice/ https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/estrogen-reverses-autism-l...
- SubiculumCode 6y ago
  It should be noted that this research sample, as opposed to many autism samples, includes autism with non-verbal, and severe intellectual disability phenotypes of autism, phenotypes not always captured in neuroimaging research of adults due to compliance issues (We collect neuroimaging data while participants sleep in the scanner).
fragmede 6y ago
My hypothesis is that there's is a simpler, more-cultural answer, which is that girls with autism simply aren't diagnosed at the same rate that boys with autism are.
- SubiculumCode 6y ago
  That is certainly one of the hypotheses in the mix. Personally, I think it accounts for some, but not all of the disparity.

watwut 6y ago

I think that question is, why are girls better at masking/adapting symptoms? Regardless of whether autism is more prevalent in girls, what it is about being girl that makes you mask better.

bondarchuk 6y ago
I've always wondered about this one: symptoms of autism are closer to the expected behaviour of girls than that of boys.
- Jare 6y ago
  I touched on this in a nearby comment, but: I think that works, but only for the somewhat milder symptoms.
TeaDrunk 6y ago
There is significant pressure on girls to behave in a manner that an adult might (quieter, more sociable, smiling, tolerant of situations) and significant pressure not to behave in an outwardly or rowdy manner (stimming, being hyperactive, responding in upset at being overstimulated, responding to sensory displeasure by rejection, etc).
- watwut 6y ago
  I thought that autistic cant be pressured away from symptoms?
  - vulcan01 6y ago
    I think the parent comment is trying to say that the symptoms can be 'pressured away' by pressuring the child into masking their symptoms.

Jare 6y ago

It would seem to me that masking works to a point (towards the "highly functioning" side of the spectrum), and once you get to the ways in which autism blocks ability to perform certain common behaviours and activities (e.g. non-verbal), the gender percentages should get closer again, because there's no masking to hide them or social expectations that they match. Is this the case?

nicoburns 6y ago
I've seen research that suggests that estrogen could mitigate symptoms of autism, which could also explain a gender difference: - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193073/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193073/ - https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/estrogen-reverses-autism-like-features-in-mice/ https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/estrogen-reverses-autism-l...
SubiculumCode 6y ago
It should be noted that this research sample, as opposed to many autism samples, includes autism with non-verbal, and severe intellectual disability phenotypes of autism, phenotypes not always captured in neuroimaging research of adults due to compliance issues (We collect neuroimaging data while participants sleep in the scanner).

fragmede 6y ago

My hypothesis is that there's is a simpler, more-cultural answer, which is that girls with autism simply aren't diagnosed at the same rate that boys with autism are.

SubiculumCode 6y ago
That is certainly one of the hypotheses in the mix. Personally, I think it accounts for some, but not all of the disparity.