Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis.

ABSTRACT: Although autism has historically been conceptualized as a condition that emerges in early childhood^1,2, many autistic people are diagnosed later in life^3-5. It is unknown whether earlier- and later-diagnosed autism have different developmental trajectories and genetic profiles. Using longitudinal data from four independent birth cohorts, we demonstrate that two different socioemotional and behavioural trajectories are associated with age at diagnosis. In independent cohorts of autistic individuals, common genetic variants account for approximately 11% of the variance in age at autism diagnosis, similar to the contribution of individual sociodemographic and clinical factors, which typically explain less than 15% of this variance. We further demonstrate that the polygen

SUBMITTER: Zhang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12571882 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature