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Scientists have dismissed warnings from Donald Trump linking paracetamol use during pregnancy to autism.
The US president made the allegation in September as he claimed there had been a “meteoric rise” in cases of autism.
Identifying the medication – known as Tylenol in the States – as a potential cause, Mr Trump suggested pregnant women should “tough it out”.
Now, after reviewing dozens of studies on the topic, experts have concluded there is “no clinically important” link between paracetamol use and autism.
For the review, scientists identified 43 studies concerning autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and intellectual disabilities.
Then they examined the outcome of pregnancies with and without paracetamol exposure, and found “paracetamol exposure during pregnancy was not associated with the risk of autism” or ADHD, or intellectual disabilities.
Lead author Asma Khalil of St George’s Hospital in London said: “We found no clinically important increase in the risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability among children where the mothers took paracetamol during pregnancy.
“And this is the important message to the millions of pregnant individuals – paracetamol is safe to use in pregnancy.
“It remains the first-line treatment that we would recommend if pregnant women have pain or fever, and it’s also consistent with recommendations or guidelines by various national or international bodies.”
Pic: iStock
Grainne McAlonan, professor of translational neuroscience at King’s College London, highlighted that the review had also examined a number of sibling…
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