Autism in Adulthood: Scientists Explain Why Menopause Is More Difficult for Autistic Women

Symptoms among autistic participants remained more severe throughout the five-week observation period. They also experienced greater anxiety and depression and reported a lower quality of life, with all these measures linked to the severity of menopause symptoms. The researchers found that the more severe the menopause, the lower the participants’ ratings of their well-being and quality of life.

Physical health was another concern. Autistic people were almost twice as likely to report cardiovascular disease and more than four times as likely to report problems affecting their joints and ligaments, such as hypermobility. Many participants had several chronic conditions at the same time.

“I thought I was going mad” and “I thought I had a disease” are among the ways autistic people describe their experiences when their symptoms do not match what they read or hear about other people’s menopause experiences, said Professor Julie Gamble-Turner. Information about what to expect during menopause can help autistic people feel less frightened and less lost, she noted.

The researchers sought to understand why menopause is more difficult for autistic people. A feeling of losing control and difficulties understanding physical and psychological changes predicted greater symptom severity. Menopause can also exacerbate autistic people’s difficulties with memory, planning, emotional regulation, and sensory sensitivity.

Menopause can be challenging for neurotypical people as well: its symptoms force one in ten women to leave their jobs. According to Kim, previous research by her academic supervisors had already suggested that menopause can become a period of crisis for autistic people. Her study is among the first to attempt to explain the reasons behind this particularly difficult experience.

Dr. Rachel Moseley highlights another problem: difficulties accessing support. Healthcare professionals are not always prepared to believe that an autistic person is struggling. Such individuals may not express distress in the expected way and may be experiencing a crisis while still speaking calmly and logically.

“It is so important to believe anyone who says they are struggling,” the researcher concludes.