{
  "abstract": "Introduction: Autism and eating disorders frequently co-occur, yet relatively little is known about how autistic adults experience eating disorders.\n\nMethods: This systematic review synthesised qualitative evidence to explore the lived experiences of autistic adults with an eating disorder and inform autism-informed clinical practice. A systematic search identified 13 eligible studies, which were appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Qualitative Checklist and synthesised using thematic synthesis.\n\nResults: Findings were organised into three themes: eating disorder experiences cannot be understood independently of autistic ways of processing the world; recovery is enabled through developing self-understanding and integrating autism into personal identity; and recovery is facilitated when support aligns with autistic needs rather than neurotypical assumptions. Autistic characteristics, particularly sensory sensitivities, interoceptive differences, and a preference for predictability, fundamentally shaped the development, maintenance, and recovery of eating disorders. Sensory-driven food restriction was frequently experienced independently of body image concerns, highlighting potential conceptual overlap with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).\n\nDiscussion: Autistic adults described eating disorders as inseparable from their autistic experience, indicating the need for a paradigm shift from conceptualising autism and eating disorders as co-occurring conditions towards a model rooted in lived phenomenological experience. Clinical assessment, formulation, and intervention should adopt autism-informed, individualised approaches that recognise sensory processing and interoceptive differences, while future research should examine these mechanisms across a broader range of eating disorder diagnoses.\n\nSystematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/ , identifier CRD420261375735.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Sheffield",
    "Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University"
  ],
  "article_type": "systematic review",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Becky Watts"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Samuel J. R. A. Chawner"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Gareth Burchell"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "John R. E. Fox"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8raq1fqxd0jet.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1953234",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716808/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "8raq1fqxd0jet",
  "issns": [
    "1664-0640"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1953234/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Systematic Review"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3203|Eating Disorders and Behaviors"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222109637",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1953234/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13716808",
  "pmid": "42959340",
  "published": "2026-10-15",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8raq1fqxd0jet.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:18Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1953234",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1953234/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T00:20:37Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13716808",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13716808"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T00:20:52Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42959340",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42959340"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:24:00Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13716808",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1953234"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:3203|Eating Disorders and Behaviors",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A systematic review of qualitative research of eating disorders in autistic adults: convergent and divergent experiences",
  "title_text": "A systematic review of qualitative research of eating disorders in autistic adults: convergent and divergent experiences",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-02T12:21:14Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8raq1fqxd0jet",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Psychiatry",
  "versions": []
}