A person's sex and job best predicts how many autistic traits they have, new research has found.
Men who work in science, technology, engineering or mathematics subjects are more likely to have more traits associated with the condition.
The study saw half a million people take a 50-question test which revealed how many characteristics associated with autism they have.
The researchers explained that autistic traits are not the same as having a diagnosis of autism.
Instead, these are characteristics of personality and behaviour which are commonly linked with the condition, including difficulty in taking another person's point of view, difficulty in switching attention flexibly, and excellent attention to detail.
Everyone has some of these traits, and there are a wide range will be seen across the population.
More than a decade ago a team of scientists at the University of Cambridge developed a way of measuring these traits, using a questionnaire called the Autism Spectrum Quotient, or AQ.
This comprises 50 questions, each one representing one autistic trait.
The higher the number, the more autistic traits the person displays.
The questions include 'I find social situations easy' and 'Other people frequently tell me that what I've said is impolite, even though I think it is polite'.
Others are 'I enjoy doing things spontaneously' and 'if I try to imagine something, I find it very easy to create a picture in my mind'.
In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4.
Comparably, 80 per cent of those diagnosed with autism scored 32 or higher.
Previous work has found that, on average, men score higher than women, and those studying a STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) degree score higher than those who do not.
As part of the new study, researchers found that, on average, the male AQ score was 21.6, compared to a female score of 19.0.
People work in a STEM-related job had an average AQ score of 21.9 compared to a score of 18.9 for individuals working in non-STEM jobs.
This suggests autistic traits are linked to both sex and to having a 'systems-thinking' mind - where individuals seek to understand how systems and machines work.
The study was led by Emily Ruzich, a PhD student, and Professor Simon Baron-Cohen at the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge.
The study followed a discussion of autism and autistic traits on Channel 4's health TV programme Embarrassing Bodies: Live from the Clinic.
(dailymail.co.uk)
www.ann.az
