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FEMALE-to-male transsexuals have a higher than average number of autistic traits, a new study from Cambridge University has found.

The study, published today in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, has important implications for the clinical management for girls with gender ambiguity that persists into adulthood, and for the ‘extreme male brain theory’ of autism.

The researchers measured autistic traits using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and compared scores from five groups: 61 transmen, 198 transwomen: 76 typical males; 98 typical females; and 125 individuals with Asperger Syndrome.

They found transmen - female-to-male transsexuals - had a hiver avergae AQ than the other groups, but lower than those with Asperger Syndrome.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at University of Cambridge, led the study with Rebecca Jones, now at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

Professor Baron-Cohen said: “Girls with a higher than average number level of autistic traits tend to have male-typical interests, showing a preference for systems over emotions.

“They prefer not to socialise with typical girls because they have different interests, and because typical girls on average have more advanced social skills. Both of these factors may lead girls with a higher number of autistic traits to socialize with boys, to believe they have a boy’s mind in a girl’s body, and to attribute their unhappiness to being a girl.”

Rebecca Jones added: “If such girls do believe they have a boy’s mind in a girl’s body, their higher than average number of autistic traits may also mean they hold their beliefs very strongly, and pursue them to the logical conclusion: opting for sex reassignment surgery in adulthood.”

The study was funded by the Medical Research Council.