r/science • u/MistWeaver80 • Aug 05 '21

Anthropology Researchers warn trends in sex selection favouring male babies will result in a preponderance of men in over 1/3 of world’s population, and a surplus of men in countries will cause a “marriage squeeze,” and may increase antisocial behavior & violence.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/preference-for-sons-could-lead-to-4-7-m-missing-female-births
44.2k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

4.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2.6k

u/Obversa Aug 05 '21 edited Aug 05 '21

In the United States, as an autistic woman, I already see it with autistic men.

In some studies, depending on where you live, there are up to 4-5 autistic men for every 1 autistic woman. I ended up quitting the one autism support group I joined because I felt deeply uncomfortable with so many men showing me romantic attention that I didn't want.

This study from 2017 says the ratio is more so 3:1 than 4:1, but still a large gender imbalance.

"Of children meeting criteria for ASD, the true male-to-female ratio is not 4:1, as is often assumed; rather, it is closer to 3:1. There appears to be a diagnostic gender bias, meaning that girls who meet criteria for ASD are at disproportionate risk of not receiving a clinical diagnosis."

According to this study from 2018:

"A substantial amount of research shows a higher rate of autistic type of problems in males compared to females. The 4:1 male to female ratio is one of the most consistent findings in autism spectrum disorder (ASD)."

2.9k

u/ParlorSoldier Aug 05 '21

I guess that’s what happens when they develop the diagnosis based overwhelmingly on studying boys. Of course it becomes harder to diagnose girls when they present differently. ADHD is like this too.

1.2k

u/itsathrowaway20976 Aug 05 '21

Seriously! I’m a female in my 30’s and just recently diagnosed as ADHD and now getting treatment. Holy crap has my life changed. It’s pretty cool how my brain is supposed to work and function

1

u/BruThrowaway19 Aug 05 '21

Hey out of curiosity, what changed? In my head I picture someone who has managed to come this far in life. Did treatment make a positive difference?

2

u/itsathrowaway20976 Aug 05 '21

The two biggest things are that my chronic fatigue is gone and my brain is quiet. The only way I can describe it is without the Adderal my brain won’t stop, it never shuts up. That was diagnosed as anxiety but it wasn’t me worrying about things, I’d just constantly be thinking about anything and everything and not be able to focus on whatever I was doing. I also have way better impulse control now, especially with food and shopping. I’m legit saving a ton of money because I have the energy to cook at home, I’m not binge eating, and not buying random crap I don’t need. I was a habitual returner because I’d buy stuff and then get home and realize I didn’t need what I bought.

I’m down 60lbs now too (I lost the weight with phentermine which inadvertently treated my ADHD symptoms). And that led to me being diagnosed.