Mental Health Hospitalizations Common in Adults With Autism

WEDNESDAY, July 23, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Mental health hospitalizations are more common among adults with autism, with more than one-third of all admissions tied to mental health conditions for those with autism, according to a study published in the June issue of Research in Autism.

Using the National Readmission Database (2019), Jessica E. Rast, Ph.D., from the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University in Philadelphia, and colleagues estimated U.S. national rates of mental health hospitalization (MHH) and 30-day all-cause readmission among adults with autism, intellectual disability (ID), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other mental health conditions.

The researchers found that more than one-third (36 percent) of all admissions for adults with autism in 2019 were MHHs, with schizophrenia the most common reason. Among all index MHHs in adults with autism, 17 percent had a 30-day all-cause readmission. In adults with autism and ID, readmissions were more common than in adults with autism without ID (25 versus 15 percent). Readmission was also slightly more common in female adults with autism versus male adults with autism (20 versus 16 percent; odds ratio, 1.30). Having schizophrenia with an initial admission was associated with increased odds of readmission for all groups (odds ratio, 1.37).

“The identification of such high rates of both mental health hospitalizations and readmissions should be an impetus for more research into improving the systems that currently mis-serve autistic people with mental health concerns,” said Rast in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text