Autistic women experience more severe menopausal symptoms, study confirms

A new study by researchers at Bournemouth University has shown that autistic people consistently experience more severe menopausal symptoms than non-autistic people, leading to poorer well-being and quality of life.

The new study, led by Ph.D. student Eunhee Kim, is the largest ever to compare self-reported menopause symptoms between autistic and non-autistic people. Just over 900 participants took part in the study, most of them cisgender women. The researchers monitored their symptoms and well-being over five weeks.

The findings have been published in Autism in Adulthood.

The study was motivated by the need to explore autistic experiences of menopause on a larger scale. “Previous work by my supervisors at Bournemouth University has told us that autistic people can experience menopause at a time of crisis,” explained Kim.

“We know that menopause can be challenging for non-autistic people—the symptoms force one in 10 women to leave the workforce. Autistic people can already struggle with memory, planning, managing emotions and sensory sensitivities, and many try hard to fit in and mask their differences while struggling with these things, so menopause could worsen things that are already difficult for them.”

The findings revealed stark health inequalities. Not only did autistic people show more severe menopausal symptoms than non-autistic people across several weeks of the study, but they also had greater anxiety and depression and lower quality of life—all of which were linked to the severity of their menopause symptoms.

They also had much higher rates of physical illness; autistic people were almost twice as likely to report having one or more cardiovascular conditions, like heart disease, than non-autistic people, and over four times more likely to report having a musculoskeletal condition, like hypermobility. Many autistic participants also had multiple serious and chronic health conditions.

“The findings tell us that autistic people often have complex health challenges during menopause,” said Kim. “This is important because menopause can worsen preexisting mental and physical health conditions. This is one reason why autistic people, who are more likely to have poorer health to begin with, might have an especially difficult time during menopause.”

Beyond showing the scale of health inequalities during menopause, the study is one of the first to explore why autistic people might have a harder time during menopause. The researchers found that feeling out of control and struggling to understand menopausal changes to the body and mind appeared to predict the severity of menopause symptoms.

Professor Julie Gamble-Turner and Dr. Rachel Moseley, co-authors on the study and Kim’s Ph.D. supervisors, point out similarities with their previous work in this area.

Gamble-Turner said, “Autistic people have often told us ‘I thought I was going mad,’ or ‘I thought I had a disease,’ because their menopausal experiences don’t resemble what they’ve read or heard about in other people. Helping people feel less frightened, confused and out of control—for instance, by giving them information tailored for autistic people about what to expect during menopause—means we are better able to help them.”

The findings also have important implications for health care professionals, notes Moseley. “Autistic people often tell us that they struggle to access help during menopause.

“Sometimes, doctors do not believe how much they are struggling, perhaps because autistic people do not necessarily show their distress in the way non-autistic people expect. Autistic people can be in crisis yet sound quite calm and logical. It’s so important to believe any person who tells you they are struggling.”

Who’s behind this story?

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries.

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Andrew Zinin

Master’s in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X’s editorial success.

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