‘No relationship’: Scientists push back on Trump’s reported claim linking paracetamol to autism

The Trump administration will reportedly claim on Monday that it has identified a link between pregnant women’s use of a common painkiller and autism in children, prompting swift backlash from child health experts.

The announcement comes months after US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr vowed to identify the cause of autism by September.

US President Donald Trump teed up the news over the weekend, saying “I think we found an answer to autism”.

His administration will reportedly point to paracetamol, also called acetaminophen, which is widely used across the world.

The global scientific community disagrees.

“I am exceptionally confident in saying that no relationship exists” between paracetamol and autism, said Dr Monique Botha, an associate professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

Some studies suggest a potential link between paracetamol use early in pregnancy and slightly higher rates of autism in children, but they are inconclusive and do not prove the drug causes autism.

Other major studies also appear to refute these findings.

Last year, for example, Swedish researchers analysed data from nearly 2.5 million children born over a 24-year period to compare how siblings fared when their mothers used paracetamol.

They found that paracetamol use during pregnancy was not linked to children’s risk of autism, intellectual disabilities, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“This suggests that other factors, such as genetic or underlying maternal health conditions, may better explain the findings,” said Dr Hannah Kirk, a senior lecturer in the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University in Australia.

Researchers believe autism is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as advanced parental age, prenatal exposure to air pollution, and low oxygen around the time of birth, among others.

Advocacy groups such as Autism Speaks say that autism appears to be more common now than in the past due to increased awareness of the condition, improved screening, and changes to diagnostic criteria, leading to earlier detection and more children being diagnosed.

According to The Washington Post, which first reported on the Trump administration's conclusions, the new guidance will advise women early in their pregnancies against using paracetamol unless they have a fever.

Scientists warned that the advice could deter pregnant women from taking paracetamol, which helps reduce fevers. High fever in pregnancy is considered a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

“Suggesting to pregnant women that this drug is unsafe will cause much anxiety to women who already feel vulnerable and overwhelmed with information,” said Dr Linden J Stocker, a fetomaternal medicine consultant at the University Hospitals Southampton in the UK.

Meanwhile, Botha warned that the announcement could stigmatise families with autistic children.

It “reinvigorates the long pattern of maternal shame and blame … where we try to pay the fault of autism at the mother's door one way or another,” Botha said.