Young Adults With Asperger Syndrome Frequently Suffer From Depression

Given that almost 70% of young adults with Asperger syndrome have suffered from depression, it is vital that psychiatric care staff are aware of this so that patients are given the right treatment, reveals research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Tove Lugnegård, researcher at the University of Gothenburg, has shown in her thesis that mood disorders and anxiety disorders are very common among young adults with Asperger syndrome. Around 70% of the young adults with Asperger Syndrome in the study reported at least one previous episode of depression, and up to 50 % had had repeated episodes - a remarkable result given that the mean age of the group was just 27 years.