Pubertal developmental, body mass index, and cardiovascular autonomic function in children and adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder: a four-time point accelerated longitudinal study

Minimal research to date has explored physical health (e.g., BMI) and autonomic outcomes in ASD. The current study observed few group differences yet demonstrates important effects of physical health on ANS function in both ASD and neurotypical youth. Findings further emphasize a need to focus on individual traits such as BMI and medication use to elucidate the extent to which autonomic differences are related to health status, irrespective of diagnostic category, across the lifespan.