Lectures and seminars Faculty event: Mark Taylor

Title

A lifespan perspective on co-occurring mental and physical health conditions in autistic people

Abstract 

Autism is a condition with an onset in the earliest stages of life and is now increasingly known to be a condition that affects individuals across their entire lives. Another key finding in autism research is that autistic people are at an increased risk of developing mental health conditions, and it has more recently been established that they are also at an increased risk for certain physical and neurological conditions. A lifespan perspective is therefore needed to adequately meet the health needs of autistic people. In this talk, I will present research that I, my group, and collaborators have been working on for more than 10-years, aiming to better understand health outcomes in autistic people at different stages of their lives. This will include both mental and physical health. I will show evidence that autistic people are at an increased risk of various health conditions from as early as infancy and heading towards later life. I will speculate on some mechanisms that could tie autism together with these conditions, presenting an update on the extent to which we understand the shared genetic basis of autism and co-occurring conditions. Finally, I will present some new findings concerning the relationship between autism and dementia and share some future directions. 

About the speaker 

Mark Taylor is a Principal Researcher in psychiatric epidemiology at MEB. His research focuses on health outcomes in autistic people, including mental and physical health.

Join the faculty event in Wargentin! After the seminar, the faculty lunch will be served in Ljusgården.