Among 3189 Swedish individuals with current or previous anorexia nervosa, those with confirmed autism diagnosis (4.2%) experienced higher eating disorder severity across 27 out of 29 indicators.

Some of the highest risk increases were found for having attempted suicide, having received tube feeding, and time spent in inpatient care for eating disorders.

Repeating the analyses with autism polygenic score instead of autism diagnosis yielded non-statistically significant results for all 29 eating disorder severity indicators.

Though widespread structural differences have been reported in anorexia nervosa the relationship to autistic traits is under-researched and unclear.

In this study autistic characteristics were not correlated to structural measures or structural differences in anorexia nervosa.

Possible reasons for our results including variation in underlying biological process between anorexia nervosa and autism, as well as heterogeneity within anorexia nervosa are discussed, along with strategies for future work.

Participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had greater executive function (EF) difficulties than participants with anorexia nervosa (AN) on all behaviour rating of executive functions parent-form scales

In AN, lower body mass index and particularly higher autism-spectrum quotient were most strongly associated with poorer EF

Our study highlights the importance of autistic features in the alteration of EF in AN

Theory of mind (ToM) and social recognition have been found to be impaired in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN)

In our study patients with BN showed hyperactive fronto-temporal brain activations compared to controls during a social recognition tasks, in contrast to patients with AN that showed hypoactivation

Hyperactivation in patients with BN was associated with illness severity, potentially signifying reduced neural efficacy and helping to explain impaired social interaction found clinically, however, opposite brain alterations suggest transdiagnostically different underlying mechanisms and directions for brain-directed therapy

Atypical interoception is linked to both feeding and eating disorders, and autism and may contribute to the comorbidity between the two.

Existing measures of interoception across cardiac, gastric and respiratory domains are severely limited.

Novel and better-validated measures of interoception will allow us to better understand the clinical potential of interoceptive training.

This scoping review indicates that autistic women exhibit both eating behaviours frequently seen in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and disordered eating behaviours, similar to those of women with eating disorders.

The review also indicates that studies investigating these eating behaviours of autistic women are still very scarce, and those that are available often lack a comprehensive assessment of the ASD diagnosis.

Future studies are needed to confirm the findings and to further explore how and why autistic women eat the way they eat, in order to help to adapt current treatment modalities to meet the unique needs of these women.

Sensory processing, notably taste/smell and hypersensitivities, was associated with a broad range of eating behaviours in autism, although no study looked at disordered eating outcomes.

There are clear implications for the development of sensory-based eating interventions in clinical and subclinical populations, highlighting the need for considering and adjusting for unique sensory needs in treatment approaches.

A broader investigation of different sensory profiles and disordered eating outcomes across development will allow us to untangle the role of sensory processing in autism and eating behaviours.

Definitions of recovery from ED have traditionally relied on clinical, rather than patient, priorities.

Both autistic and non-autistic people with a history of ED reported similar definitions of recovery, including weight restoration, lack of ED behaviours and cognitions, improved emotional responses around food and weight, the ability to get on with life, and the fact that they had ongoing challenges.

The paper highlights that patients often think about recovery in ways which map on to clinical definitions, with some additional factors which could be utilised to support patients in this phase of illness.

In a restrictive eating disorder sample, the AQ-10 accurately identified 85% of autistic women, but had a sensitivity of only 69%, indicating that it leads to many false negatives.

Adding questions about auditory sensitivity, social compensation and externally orientated thinking, in combination with the AQ-10, led to an improved autism screening model (sensitivity = 76%, specificity = 92%).

The model indicates additional autistic characteristics that when supplemented with the AQ-10 could improve autism screening tools for a restrictive eating disorder population.

There is evidence that high levels of autistic traits are associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing an eating disorder.

The current study sought to test whether the link between autism and eating disorders could in part be explained by variation in fussy eating.

In a large prospective cohort study, we found a significant indirect effect of fussy eating, such that higher childhood autistic traits were associated with a shallower decline in fussy eating between childhood and adolescence, which in turn was associated with higher levels of eating disorder behaviours in adolescence.

The current study is the first to compare the eating disorder (ED) illness history and treatment experiences of autistic and non-autistic women.

Autistic women with EDs are diagnosed at a younger age and report longer illness duration than non-autistic women.

Autistic women with EDs tend to access a broader range of healthcare settings and ED treatments than non-autistic women, but report these to be less beneficial.

Autistic traits were significantly correlated with eating behaviours.

People with higher autistic traits tended to have higher selective eating behaviours, such as increased sensitivity to food texture and mixed flavours.

People who like sour tastes tended to have less selective eating behaviours.

People who are sensitive to aftertaste perception tended to have greater selective eating behaviours.

Autistic traits, taste perceptions, and taste preferences play a role in the development of a number of selective eating behaviours.

10% of young people with restrictive-type eating disorder (R-ED) had comorbid autism.

More young people with R-ED and comorbid autism need intensified treatment.

Comparable proportions of young people with R-ED with and without autism achieved weight normalisation and ended the treatment within 12 months.

FBT may be a suitable first line of treatment for young persons (YPs) with R-ED and autism, but adaptations might help more YPs recover with an outpatient modality alone.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines for eating disorders recommend that those supporting loved ones with eating disorders have access to information and support.

Online workshops for supporters might remove barriers to access and increase uptake, and we wanted to learn more about this mode of delivery and its benefits on supporter skills.

We were also interested in thinking about neurodiversity within the workshops, in particular whether supporters have traits of autism spectrum disorder. This information is important in helping us plan for more inclusive workshops.

Around 1/3 of supporters scored over the cut-off on the Autism Quotient (AQ10) suggesting it is important to think carefully about how online workshops might benefit (or present challenges for) a more diverse group of attendees.

Supporters reported benefits in terms of improvements in their skills and positive feedback at the end of one of five workshop series.

Rates of autism characteristics in youth with anorexia nervosa depended on instrument used and informant.

No association between autism characteristics and demographic, clinical, or treatment outcomes.

Longitudinal examinations of autism characteristics in anorexia nervosa are needed.

PEACE pathway was identified as the only clinical pathway of treatment adaptations for patients with anorexia nervosa and autism.

Autistic characteristics have no direct impact on eating disorder symptoms and physical outcomes of treatment.

However, autistic characteristics could be associated with higher rates of comorbidities and greater use of intensive treatment.