EurekAlert!

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States face a 14-year deficit in life expectancy, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and University of Colorado Anschutz. The study provides one of the first large-scale estimates of age-specific death rates and life expectancy among people with ASD.

New study finds that widespread underreporting of Covid-19 deaths cannot be explained simply by differences in countries’ ability to count and record deaths. Across 134 countries and territories, an estimated 45%–55% of governments misreported Covid mortality, with underreporting far more common than overreporting. The study provides comparable country-level data of the extent of misinformation for researchers and policymakers. The findings point to a broader lesson beyond the pandemic: strong institutions and an informed public can play an important role in protecting the reliability of official information.

When psychiatrists assess the same patient, they agree on the diagnosis in only about half of cases, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. The findings raise concerns about potential misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, and errors in psychiatric research.

New research in the International Journal of Clinical Practice suggests that workplace psychological stress may impair erectile function in young men by affecting certain stress management pathways in the brain and reducing testosterone levels.

Researchers at Tohoku University have combined multiple tools to create an automated, self-improving AI workflow that may improve our search for polymer material candidates so that it is less expensive, less costly, and more environmentally friendly.