Cognitive Aging in Autism Subgroups: a Short Report

Background: Research on cognitive aging in autism yielded inconclusive results, which could be due to the heterogeneity among autistic adults. Possibly, some autistic adults are more vulnerable to accelerated cognitive aging than others. We previously identified two subgroups of autistic adults that differed on behavioral (psychological, demographic and lifestyle) characteristics, with one reporting more difficulties in daily life. This study aims to assess whether these subgroups are associated with different patterns of cognitive aging. Methods: Two autism subgroups (N1=65, N2=78) were compared on eleven separate cognitive outcomes, and on their entire cognitive profile. We assessed age-related effects between the subgroups on five cognitive outcomes, cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Next to these pre-registered analyses, the subgroups were compared to a non-autistic comparison group (N=254). Results: The subgroups did not differ significantly on the cognitive outcomes or entire cognitive profile. Moreover, no differences in age-related effects or decline were observed. Differences with the non-autistic comparison group were similar across subgroups. Conclusions: The current results provide evidence for fairly similar cognitive aging across two autism subgroups. Differences in behavioral characteristics between autism subgroups do not necessarily translate to differences in cognition, at least in those with (above) average intellectual abilities and adulthood diagnoses.