Autism Spectrum Disorder and Anorexia Nervosa in female adolescents: A study of comorbidity and the role of set-shifting abilities

We investigated whether females with first onset AN exhibit more symptoms of ASD than healthy controls. Additionally, we examined whether there is an association between symptoms of ASD and the clinical outcome of AN. Finally, we investigated whether there is an association between symptoms of ASD and SS abilities in participants with AN. A total of 130 female participants participated in this study. The ASD symptoms were measured with the SRS-A/SRS-2. The clinical outcome of AN was measured with the EDE 12.0 as well as with the BMI-SDS. The SS abilities were measured with two tasks. In line with our hypothesis, participants with AN exhibited significantly more symptoms of ASD than their healthy counterparts. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no association between symptoms of ASD and the clinical outcome of AN. There was also no association between symptoms of ASD and SS abilities in the participants with AN.