Daily London
Scientists have debunked a claim by US President Donald Trump about a common painkiller causing autism.
Trump said that women should not take acetaminophen, known by the brand name Tylenol in the US or as paracetamol in Australia, “during the entire pregnancy” because it could cause the neurodevelopmental disorder.
Existing evidence does not clearly link paracetamol use during pregnancy with autism or ADHD in children, the authors from Monash University found.
Women should continue to take it if they need it, the review, published in the BMJ, says.
The researchers say confidence in the findings of existing evidence reviews and studies on the topic is “low to critically low”.
They suggest any apparent effect seen in previous studies “may be driven by shared genetic and environmental factors within families.”
It calls other reviews on the topic “poor quality”.
“Science and vaccines have transformed public health and human survival, and whilst they have limited recognised side effects, collectively the benefits clearly outweigh the risks of the diseases they prevent,” study co-author and Monash University Professor Helena Teede said.
“It is important to rely on the best collective evidence to understand the benefits and risks of vaccines.”
Only one review included two studies that appropriately adjusted for possible effects of genetic and environmental factors shared by siblings, and accounted for other important factors such as parents’ mental health, background and lifestyle, the University said.
In both these studies, the observed association between exposure to paracetamol and risk of autism and ADHD in childhood disappeared or reduced after adjustment, suggesting that these factors explain much of the observed risk, say the researchers.
“The current evidence base is insufficient to definitively link in utero exposure to paracetamol with autism and ADHD in childhood,” they concluded.
