Adults who suspect they may be autistic or have ADHD show corresponding neurodevelopmental polygenic effects
- 1University of Cambridge
Abstract
Approximately 3.4% of UK adults suspect they may be autistic and 5.8% suspect they may have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) without a formal diagnosis. Whether this reflects the polygenic architecture of the corresponding neurodevelopmental conditions or a broader mix of other psychiatric conditions is unknown. We analysed UK Biobank participants who completed autism (n=154,926) and ADHD (n=161,623) trait questionnaires, classifying them into no diagnosis, suspected, or diagnosed groups from a self-report question. We conducted genome-wide association studies of self-reported suspected autism (n=6,797) and suspected ADHD (n=3,611), estimated genetic correlations with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, and characterised polygenic score (PGS) and co-occurring mental health profiles across groups. Genetic correlations between self-reported suspected autism or ADHD and external autism and ADHD GWAS were not statistically different from 1, and were higher for later-diagnosed autism and adulthood-diagnosed ADHD than childhood-diagnosed forms; correlations with other psychiatric conditions were low to moderate. PGS for most neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions were similarly elevated in self-reported suspected and diagnosed groups relative to no diagnosis, but co-occurring mental health conditions and neurodevelopmental trait scores were highest in the self-reported diagnosed group and intermediate in the self-reported suspected group. Within the self-reported suspected group, PGS and psychiatric diagnoses increased with increasing trait scores. These findings indicate that, as a group, adults who self-report that they have suspected undiagnosed autism or ADHD show a genetic correlation pattern more specific to the corresponding condition than to general psychiatric liability.
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BibTeX
@misc{alhadeff2026adults,
title = {{Adults who suspect they may be autistic or have ADHD show corresponding neurodevelopmental polygenic effects}},
author = {A. Alhadeff and Y. Zhao and L. Perry and Y. He and Q. Ma and S. Baron-Cohen and V. Warrier},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.64898/2026.08.03.26359559},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.03.26359559v2},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Adults who suspect they may be autistic or have ADHD show corresponding neurodevelopmental polygenic effects
AU - A. Alhadeff
AU - Y. Zhao
AU - L. Perry
AU - Y. He
AU - Q. Ma
AU - S. Baron-Cohen
AU - V. Warrier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/03
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.08.03.26359559
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.03.26359559v2
AB - Approximately 3.4% of UK adults suspect they may be autistic and 5.8% suspect they may have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) without a formal diagnosis. Whether this reflects the polygenic architecture of the corresponding neurodevelopmental conditions or a broader mix of other psychiatric conditions is unknown. We analysed UK Biobank participants who completed autism (n=154,926) and ADHD (n=161,623) trait questionnaires, classifying them into no diagnosis, suspected, or diagnosed groups from a self-report question. We conducted genome-wide association studies of self-reported suspected autism (n=6,797) and suspected ADHD (n=3,611), estimated genetic correlations with neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions, and characterised polygenic score (PGS) and co-occurring mental health profiles across groups. Genetic correlations between self-reported suspected autism or ADHD and external autism and ADHD GWAS were not statistically different from 1, and were higher for later-diagnosed autism and adulthood-diagnosed ADHD than childhood-diagnosed forms; correlations with other psychiatric conditions were low to moderate. PGS for most neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions were similarly elevated in self-reported suspected and diagnosed groups relative to no diagnosis, but co-occurring mental health conditions and neurodevelopmental trait scores were highest in the self-reported diagnosed group and intermediate in the self-reported suspected group. Within the self-reported suspected group, PGS and psychiatric diagnoses increased with increasing trait scores. These findings indicate that, as a group, adults who self-report that they have suspected undiagnosed autism or ADHD show a genetic correlation pattern more specific to the corresponding condition than to general psychiatric liability.
ER -