Report: Autistic Individuals Have Increased Risk of COVID-19
Quote:
Autistic adults, adults with intellectual disability, and adults with mental health diagnoses have multiple risk factors for infection with COVID-19 and for experiencing more severe disease if they contract COVID-19, according to research from the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University.
Researchers used data from Medicaid to look at whether these groups were more likely to experience risk factors for COVID-19 and noted that though the Medicaid data examined is from 2008-2012, risk factors, such as living in a residential facility, are not likely to have lessened over time.
The data showed that autistic adults had higher odds of living in a residential facility, receiving in-home services from outside caregivers, having had an avoidable hospitalization and having a high-risk health condition, compared to neurotypical adults without mental health conditions.
It also showed adults with intellectual disability had similar odds of having these conditions. Adults with other mental health conditions were also more likely to live in a residential facility, receive services from outside caregivers and have had avoidable hospitalizations compared to the neurotypical population without mental health conditions. They had three times higher odds of having a high-risk health condition.
Researchers examined risk factors for COVID-19 among adults enrolled in Medicaid from 2008-12 who were ages ages 20-64 with autism, intellectual disability, mental health conditions and with no mental health conditions. They estimated prevalence, as well as logistic regressions for these groups to find the odds of these risk factors. From a random sample, 372,807 had any mental health condition; 683,778 did not. Of the full population of autistic adults and adults with intellectual disability, 31,101 were autistic, 52,049 were autistic with intellectual disability, and 563,558 were diagnosed with intellectual disability but not autism.
It is important to intensify outreach efforts to vaccinate these vulnerable groups, added Shea.
COVID-19 risk: Adult Medicaid beneficiaries with autism, intellectual disability, and mental health conditionsThe title of the article is irresponsible. It is kind of obvious if you group people together indoors 24/7 and have them cared for by overworked, underpaid employees coming in from the outside everyday residents are going to be at high risk. It does not at all prove autism or ID or any condition that lands them in a group home is a risk factor. You need to show higher rates and more severe COVID among autistics who do not live in a group home.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
31 Aug 2021, 9:49 am
