Despite Trump’s claims, new review by experts finds no link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism

Despite Donald Trump’s fervent claims that pregnant women should not use Tylenol, a painkiller containing acetaminophen, it is not clearly linked with autism or ADHD in children, a group of international researchers announced Sunday.

The findings come following an analysis of nine previous reviews that looked at 40 related studies, as well as one study recently cited by the Trump administration when instructing women not to take Tylenol during pregnancy and promoting an unproven relationship between Tylenol, vaccines and autism.

While Trump had told people not to take the drug, the new review concluded that existing evidence “does not show a clear link between in utero exposure to paracetamol and autism and ADHD in offspring.”

“Confidence in the findings of published systematic reviews on maternal paracetamol use during pregnancy and risk of autism and ADHD in offspring, with a very high overlap of primary studies, is low to critically low,” the researchers, from institutions in the U.K., Spain and Australia, explained.

Seven of the reviews included in their assessment warned about the potential for bias and the impact of unmeasured components in the studies, and only one review included studies that appropriately accounted for genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors tied to the disorders.

After adjusting for those factors in that review’s studies, the observed link between Tylenol and the risk of autism in ADHD “disappeared or reduced,” the researchers found.

While the analysis had some limitations, including that the reviews assessed differed in scale and methodology, the researchers said it revealed “the lack of robust evidence linking paracetamol use in pregnancy and autism and ADHD in offspring.”

“The current evidence base is insufficient to definitively link in utero exposure to paracetamol with autism and ADHD in childhood,” they wrote.

Reacting to the review, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists told The Independent on Monday that the results are not surprising and that there is still “no causal relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen in pregnancy and autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring,” meaning the drug has not been found to cause autism.

“Acetaminophen is one of the few options available to pregnant patients to treat pain and fever, which can be harmful to pregnant people when left untreated,” Dr. Christopher Zahn, the group’s Chief of Clinical Practice, said. “While this latest news should be reassuring to patients, as always, any medication taken during pregnancy should be used only as needed, in moderation, and after the pregnant patient has consulted with their doctor.”

When asked about the review’s findings, the American Academy of Family Physicians pointed The Independent to a previous statement that said linking vaccines to autism is “unproven and dangerous.”

“This analysis reinforces what we’ve said all along – taking acetaminophen does not cause autism,” a spokesperson for Tylenol-maker Kenvue said in an email.

Experts also told The Independent in September that advising women not to take Tylenol is “simply highly irresponsible.”

Since then, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has told reporters that “the causative association … between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal periods is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism. But it is very suggestive.”

“There should be a cautious approach to it,” he said, speaking just a day after Texas moved to sue Kenvue over the purported link.

HHS did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment.

Tylenol, which has been sold widely for decades, is the safest known drug to take during pregnancy for fever and pain.

“The conditions people use acetaminophen to treat during pregnancy are far more dangerous than any theoretical risks and can create severe morbidity and mortality for the pregnant person and the fetus,” Dr. Steven Fleischman, the president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, wrote in September.