More experts are throwing cold water on the Trump administration’s efforts to pin autism on Tylenol. A study out today finds no clear link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and a higher risk of either autism or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Researchers in the UK examined the medical literature on acetaminophen and autism/ADHD. Though some studies showed a possible connection between the drug and these conditions, others didn’t, and the overall quality of the evidence was low, they concluded. The findings indicate there’s nowhere near enough data to conclusively blame the over-the-counter medication for causing autism.
“Our review shows the lack of robust evidence linking [acetaminophen] use in pregnancy and autism and ADHD in offspring,” the researchers wrote in their paper, published Monday in The BMJ.
The latest rebuttal
In late September, President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hosted a bombastic press conference touting the administration’s newest findings on autism. They claimed that women taking acetaminophen during pregnancy are raising the chances of their children developing autism, while also announcing they would take action to caution women about the risk, such as adding a warning label to products.
Many experts and health authorities lambasted the administration’s announcement as soon as it was made, however, arguing that this connection is supported by mixed evidence at best. Numerous countries, including the UK, South Africa, and the European Union, also explicitly rejected the report’s conclusions, releasing statements that continued to endorse acetaminophen as a safe over-the-counter medication for treating pain and fever during pregnancy.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool and others conducted this latest study, an umbrella review of other systematic reviews on the topic. All told, they analyzed data from nine reviews covering 40 studies looking at maternal acetaminophen use and autism/ADHD.
Some studies did report a positive association between these conditions and the drug. But these studies tended to have a high risk of bias or other important caveats, the researchers found. Only one review included studies that directly compared siblings—a design that helps account for shared genetic and familial factors. And notably, these studies failed to find evidence of a causative relationship between acetaminophen and autism/ADHD.
Though more research on the topic would be valuable, the authors argue there’s simply no smoking gun at this time proving that acetaminophen causes autism or ADHD. And given the findings from sibling studies, it’s certainly possible the studies showing a positive link are fatally flawed.
“Any apparent effect observed after in utero exposure to paracetamol on autism and ADHD in childhood might be driven by familial genetic and environmental factors and unmeasured confounders,” they wrote.
A lack of proof
Interestingly enough, even the Trump administration seems to be aware of how weak its case is.
Though RFK Jr. has continued to defend the White House’s stance, he’s also admitted that they don’t have definitive evidence of the link. At a White House Cabinet meeting discussing the report in early October, he stated, “It is not proof. We’re doing the studies to make the proof.” Later that month, Kennedy again emphasized they don’t have “sufficient” evidence yet to say that Tylenol causes autism.
This more cautionary tone from the White House didn’t stop Trump and RFK Jr. from crowing that they had found the cause of autism in the lead-up to the September announcement, nor did it stop Trump, during the announcement, from repeatedly telling pregnant women to avoid using the drug completely (Kennedy has instead told women to use the drug only as little as necessary, something that doctors already advise).
While these latest findings are unlikely to be the final word on the subject, it seems improbable that Trump and RFK Jr.’s attempts to blame Tylenol for autism will withstand scientific muster when it’s all said and done.
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