{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T09:13:11Z","timestamp":1783588391394,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004359","name":"Vetenskapsr\u00e5det","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023-02543"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023-02543"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004359","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Womens Health (Lond Engl)"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Despite increased recognition of autism in women and girls, their reproductive health remains underexplored. Understanding reproductive health burden and healthcare experiences is essential to identifying barriers and improving support for conditions that can impact quality of life.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Investigate reproductive health and healthcare experiences among autistic compared to non-autistic individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a cross-sectional online survey in the UK (April 2024\u2013July 2025) among individuals AFAB aged 18\u201340 years recruited via convenience-sampling from autism networks, social media, and Prolific.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In total, 311 participants were included (165 self-reported autistic [\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">M<\/jats:italic>\n                      =31.1 years,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SD<\/jats:italic>\n                      =6.2], 146 non-autistic [\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">M<\/jats:italic>\n                      =30.6 years,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">SD<\/jats:italic>\n                      =5.5]). The survey, developed with input from autistic people, covered reproductive health conditions, knowledge and management of reproductive health, and reproductive healthcare experiences. Group differences were analysed using logistic regressions, chi-squared and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Healthcare inequality (HIE) scores were calculated overall and for five subdomains as composite of negative reproductive healthcare experiences. Associations between autism and HIE were examined using logistic regression.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Autistic participants reported more reproductive health conditions (44% vs. 28%) and symptoms (95% vs. 84%) than non-autistic participants. Age-adjusted regression models indicated higher odds for any condition (OR=1.96[1.21-3.17],\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;.01) and any symptom (OR=3.23[1.44-7.25],\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;.01) with OR for specific conditions\/symptoms ranging from OR=1.09[0.57-2.09],\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      =.799 to OR=3.97[2.43-6.50],\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;.001. Adjusting for other neurodivergence attenuated estimates; however, the overall associations for any symptom remained statistically significant (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;.05). Autistic participants were more likely to report irregular menstrual cycles, menstrual cycle\u2013related mental health and sensory experiences changes and poorer reproductive health knowledge and management (all\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;.001). HIE scores overall and across subcategories were higher among autistic individuals. Autism diagnosis was associated with higher overall HIE scores (OR=2.86[2.37-3.45],\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;.001) and domain specific HIE scores (OR\n                      <jats:sub>range<\/jats:sub>\n                      = 1.81[1.49-2.22]\u20135.31[3.56-8.13],\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &lt;.001).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Autistic individuals AFAB face increased reproductive health burden, greater difficulty managing their reproductive health, and significant healthcare inequities. Tailored education and individualized service adjustments are essential for equitable reproductive care in autistic individuals AFAB.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/17455057261465645","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T08:24:28Z","timestamp":1783412668000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Reproductive health and healthcare experiences in autistic and non-autistic individuals assigned female at 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