Note
NHS England is revising the autism chapter of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) 2023/24 following further quality assurance of the survey data. We expect to publish the revised chapter in the autumn. The autism findings were originally withdrawn on 18 May 2026.
The review first identified a data error that affected the values reported in the 2023/4 APMS publication. Further investigation then identified limitations in the validity of the autism assessments in the 2023/4 survey, that was not an issue in previous years of the survey. As a result, the values are not sufficiently robust to support a reliable estimate of autism prevalence among adults in 2023/24.
The revised chapter will explain the methodological challenges of measuring autism in a large-scale population survey. This includes how assessment data collected through survey methods should be interpreted, and what the findings can and cannot show. NHS England is taking this approach to ensure the publication is transparent, proportionate, aligned with the Code of Practice for Statistics, and classified as statistics in development.
Overview
The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey (APMS) series provides data on the prevalence of both treated and untreated psychiatric disorder in the English adult population (aged 16 and over).
The results of the 2023/4 survey were published in two parts. With Part 1 published in June 2025 and Part 2 appended to the publication in November 2025 and include the following chapters:
1. Common mental health conditions
2. Mental health treatment and service use
3. Posttraumatic stress disorder
4. Suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm
5. Alcohol: hazardous, harmful and dependent patterns of drinking
6. Drug use and dependence
7. Gambling behaviour
8. Personality disorder
9. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
10. Autism spectrum disorder [withdrawn May 2026, being revised for autumn 2026, see note above]
11. Bipolar disorder
12. Psychotic disorder
13. Eating disorders