Link between autism and Parkinson’s disease

Autistic people are four times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than people without autism, according to a new study.

The research published in JAMA Neurology found that the two conditions can share underlying biological mechanisms and autistic people are at a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease early in life, even when controlling for socioeconomic status, a genetic predisposition for mental illness or Parkinson’s disease and other such factors.

The large-scale study from Karolinska Institutet is based on registry data from over two million people born in Sweden between 1974 and 1999, who were followed from the age of 20 until the end of 2022.

Weiyao Yin, researcher at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, said: “This indicates that there can be shared biological drivers behind autism and Parkinson’s disease. One hypothesis is that the brain’s dopamine system is affected in both cases, since the neurotransmitter dopamine plays an important part in social behaviour and motion control.

“We hope that our results will eventually help to bring greater clarity to the underlying causes of both.”

Link between autism and Parkinson’s disease

The researchers only analysed early-onset Parkinson’s disease before the age of 50, with the average age of the study participants being 34. Therefore, the incidence of Parkinson’s disease was very low. They say that future studies must examine whether the elevated risk persists into older age.

Sven Sandin, statistician and epidemiologist at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, added: “The healthcare services need to keep people with ASD – a vulnerable group with high co-morbidity and a high use of psychotropics – under long-term observation

“At the same time, it’s important to remember that a Parkinson’s diagnosis before the age of 50 is very rare, including for people with autism.”

The study was primarily financed by the Simons Foundation and the Swedish Research Council.

Alison Bloomer

Alison Bloomer is Editor of Learning Disability Today. She has over 25 years of experience writing for medical journals and trade publications. Subjects include healthcare, pharmaceuticals, disability, insurance, stock market and emerging technologies. She is also a mother to a gorgeous 13-year-old boy who has a learning disability.

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