Beyond bendy joints: number of variant connective tissue features predicts neurodivergent characteristics in hypermobile individuals with anxiety

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Quadt, L., Csecs, J. L. L., Savage, G., Davies, G., Ramanuj, P., Hakim, A. J., Grey, N., Critchley, H. D., & Eccles, J. A. (2026). Beyond bendy joints: number of variant connective tissue features predicts neurodivergent characteristics in hypermobile individuals with anxiety. npj Mental Health Research, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44184-026-00214-5

Publication date: 10 Jun 2026 Added to AutiHub: 25 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
9
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 9 (11.1%)
  1. Lisa Quadt *
  2. Jenny L. L. Csecs
  3. Georgia Savage
  4. Geoff Davies
  5. Parashar Ramanuj
  1. Alan J. Hakim
  2. Nick Grey
  3. Hugo D. Critchley
  4. Jessica A. Eccles

Abstract

Abstract The goal of this study was to determine whether the number of connective tissue features in hypermobility is associated with the level of neurodivergent characteristics and establish whether autonomic reactivity may be an explanatory factor in the relationship between variant connective tissue and neurodivergent characteristics. 99 adult participants were assessed for joint hypermobility syndrome/hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos-Syndrome and filled out screening questionnaires for autism and ADHD. 99% of participants met criteria for generalised joint hypermobility, and 57% for hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos–Syndrome. 47% of participants scored above the screening threshold for autism, and 20% for ADHD. All measures were significantly correlated. Level of autonomic reactivity (as measured by the Body Perception Questionnaire) mediated the relationship between the number of connective tissue features and neurodivergence, even after controlling for anxiety level. This shows that autonomic reactivity has a potential mechanistic role in the established link between variant connective tissue and neurodivergence, opening novel pathways for research and clinical care.

Bibliography cited by this reference

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Cited references
60
With a DOI
54
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
6
10 / 60 (16.7%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
16 / 60 (26.7%)
References with detected author names
56 / 60 (93.3%)
Without detected author names
4
Without a structured title
16
Without a stable identifier
6
References with raw author names still to review
4
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
279
From DOI or external metadata
279
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
7
90 / 279 (32.3%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 189 / 279 (67.7%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
16 / 279 (5.7%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 16 / 90 (17.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 10 / 241 (4.1%).
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