Does Paracetamol Cause Autism And How Is It Linked To Tylenol? What Expecting Mothers Need To Know

The painkiller acetaminophen is one of the most widely used drugs during pregnancy, and is also consumed by roughly half of the pregnant population worldwide. It is known by the name of Paracetamol in places such as Europe, Australia, New Zealand and India. However, in the United States the widely consumed pregnancy painkiller is called Tylenol which carries acetaminophen as the active pharmaceutical ingredient. Just today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would impose a new warning label on the drug. The warning would cite a possible association between autism in children and the use of acetaminophen. This comes after US President Donald Trump claimed that taking Tylenol is “no good” and that pregnant women should

“fight like hell not to take it,” consuming it only in cases of extreme fever.

What is Autism?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is considered in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as disorders of neurodevelopment. Autistic people show differences in social interaction and communication, and reportedly there has been a rise in the prevalence of autism in some countries over the last few decades. However, many researchers who study autism have cautioned that there is insufficient data to link autism and acetaminophen and that focusing on such a link is no more than a distraction.Medical experts worldwide have strongly pushed back on these claims, with some even calling the US President’s comments dangerous. Additionally, health officials in the UK have stressed that paracetamol remains the safest painkiller available in the market for pregnant women.

Studies conducted on acetaminophen linked to autism

The scientific evidence on whether acetaminophen causes autism stays highly inconclusive and mixed. Here are some of the different studies that have been conducted in the past:

• In 2008 a study suggested that acetaminophen use in infants between 12-18 years of age was associated with a higher likelihood of developing autism later. However, the researchers themselves mentioned that the findings were not conclusive and required more investigation.

• Then in 2019, a study conducted at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that there is a potential association between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen and autism. However, this study too was limited by the challenges of drawing causal links from observational data.

• Finally in 2024, one of the largest studies to date was conducted that analysed the records of 2.5 million siblings born in Sweden over 25 years. This research concluded that there was no increased risk of autism in children whose mothers consumed acetaminophen during pregnancy compared to their siblings whose mothers did not.

Since this study considered family-related genetic and environmental factors, it carries more weight than many earlier reports.