Adulthood: Do the Sex/Gender Differences in Autistic Phenotype Persist in Adult Life?

Autism is a lifelong condition, extending from early childhood and adolescence into adulthood, with different phenotypic expressions based on the individual’s life stage. Several aspects tend to improve during the transition from adolescent to adult age, including language and communication abilities, social-interaction skills, adaptive functioning, ritualistic behaviors, and sensory seekness. However, globally, adults with autism show reduced quality of life. Among factors which can have a significant impact on the long-term outcome, there are intellectual and communicative abilities, presence of physical and psychiatric comorbidities, and several environmental factors. At the moment, differences in developmental trajectories between males and females in adulthood have been scarcely investigated. Women seem to present specific psychiatric comorbidities compared to men (such as anxiety and mood disorders), a worse overall quality of life, and poorer social and employment outcome. Little is known regarding sex/gender-specific executive function profiles: men and women seem to present the same difficulties in mentalizing, recognition of facial emotions, and inhibitory control skills, while male individuals show greater difficulties in perceiving details, compared to females. The lack of information regarding sex/gender profiles of adults with autism draws attention to the need of developing further research on this topic.