No link between acetaminophen and autism despite Trump claims, major review finds

Tylenol pain-relief pills are shown in La Habra, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

PARIS, France -- There is no clear link between pregnant women taking the common painkiller acetaminophen and autism in their children, despite repeated claims otherwise by Donald Trump, according to the most comprehensive review of the existing evidence published Monday.

In September, the U.S. president sparked outrage among the medical community by claiming that acetaminophen -- also known as paracetamol -- was associated with higher rates of autism.

Trump urged pregnant women to “tough it out” rather than take acetaminophen, comments which health researchers warned could scare women off their safest option to treat pain -- and risked further stigmatizing autistic people.

The World Health Organization has emphasized that there is no robust evidence showing that acetaminophen -- which is the main ingredient in massively popular painkillers such as Tylenol and Panadol -- causes autism.

On Monday, an “umbrella” review of all the scientific research yet conducted on the subject was published in the British medical journal BMJ.

“Existing evidence does not show a clear link between in utero exposure to paracetamol and autism and ADHD in offspring,” the U.K.-lead team of researchers wrote in the review.

There have been several previous studies which suggested a possible link between acetaminophen and autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

However the quality of those studies was “low to critically low,” the review said, partly because they did not take adequate steps to rule out potentially misleading factors such as whether autism runs in the family.

These controversial previous studies also could not establish exactly how acetaminophen might cause autism.

The umbrella review called for better research, pointing out that there has been a “historical and ongoing underinvestment in women’s health research.”

Confirmation

Several researchers praised the new study.

Dimitrios Siassakos, professor in obstetrics and gynecology at University College London, said the review “confirms what experts around the globe have been saying.”

“Autistic and neurodivergent people are more likely to experience chronic pain, and they are also much more likely to have neurodivergent children -- but paracetamol doesn’t cause neurodivergence,” said Steven Kapp of the University of Portsmouth.

“As a researcher and autistic person with ADHD, I think we should not be trying to prevent neurodivergence anyway, but make life better for neurodivergent people,” he added.

Beyond acetaminophen, Trump and his vaccine-sceptic Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have repeatedly made unfounded claims about autism, including that there is an “epidemic” of cases.

However experts maintain that the recent increase in autism rates is due to improved, broadened diagnosis methods along with growing awareness.

AFP