More on acetaminophen and autism
From a pediatrician colleague:
“. . . the study which is being used by certain parties to prove that “Taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism” does not actually say that. It says that there seems to be a slight increase in rates of autism among children whose mothers took Tylenol during pregnancy, BUT the lead author goes to great pains to say that the study did not control for other variables and factors so this does not PROVE anything. For example, the reason why the pregnant person took Tylenol might be because they were having bad headaches or fevers or other conditions that might mitigate toward neurological problems in the infant, but the authors of this paper emphatically say that they do NOT believe that their findings show that Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism.
“What makes this wild, unfounded, inflammatory statement especially dangerous is that fever, in and of itself, in pregnancy can be damaging to the fetus. It could be a sign of infection. The fever itself might cause long-term problems for the fetus or even miscarriage. Bottom line: Fever in pregnancy has to be taken seriously and if it  is not treated, it could have dire consequences for the unborn child.
“Beyond that, if people are discouraged from taking Tylenol during pregnancy, they may decide to take other fever medicines like ibuprofen. Unfortunately, taking NSAIDs like ibuprofen during the last half of pregnancy has been clearly demonstrated to cause problems. If someone listens to these officials while they’re pregnant and they decide to take Advil instead of Tylenol, that could cause grave harm for both mother and baby.”
For now, I’d conclude that (a) the burden of proof for the claim that gestational acetaminophen causes autism rests with those making the claim, and (b) that burden has not been met. There are other reasons to avoid acetaminophen (it is hepatotoxic), but autism isn’t among them.
“. . . the study which is being used by certain parties to prove that “Taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism” does not actually say that. It says that there seems to be a slight increase in rates of autism among children whose mothers took Tylenol during pregnancy, BUT the lead author goes to great pains to say that the study did not control for other variables and factors so this does not PROVE anything. For example, the reason why the pregnant person took Tylenol might be because they were having bad headaches or fevers or other conditions that might mitigate toward neurological problems in the infant, but the authors of this paper emphatically say that they do NOT believe that their findings show that Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism.
“What makes this wild, unfounded, inflammatory statement especially dangerous is that fever, in and of itself, in pregnancy can be damaging to the fetus. It could be a sign of infection. The fever itself might cause long-term problems for the fetus or even miscarriage. Bottom line: Fever in pregnancy has to be taken seriously and if it  is not treated, it could have dire consequences for the unborn child.
“Beyond that, if people are discouraged from taking Tylenol during pregnancy, they may decide to take other fever medicines like ibuprofen. Unfortunately, taking NSAIDs like ibuprofen during the last half of pregnancy has been clearly demonstrated to cause problems. If someone listens to these officials while they’re pregnant and they decide to take Advil instead of Tylenol, that could cause grave harm for both mother and baby.”
For now, I’d conclude that (a) the burden of proof for the claim that gestational acetaminophen causes autism rests with those making the claim, and (b) that burden has not been met. There are other reasons to avoid acetaminophen (it is hepatotoxic), but autism isn’t among them.
Headlined all three of these Once again thanks
As hysteria-ized, “other”-ized as this has become I have real concerns about their “lists”, about their demands to register autists. Where history rhythms first they came for the Gypsies, the homosexuals and the “infirm” … before they went after the Jews
@Joel,
Yes sir; excellent sir. Thanks. Attempting to post links for a couple of good albeit deep research articles that further illuminate “correlation does not prove causation” in this respect. For example, suppose expectant mothers with a greater incidence of migraine headaches also had an increased incidence of autistic child births still may not prove direct causation, but would take Tylenol off the hook.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6384146/
A Phenotype of Childhood Autism Is Associated with Preexisting Maternal Anxiety and Depression
https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-025-01208-0#
Evaluation of the evidence on acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders using the Navigation Guide methodology
When I was a new lawyer, many, many years ago, there was a lot of talk about the problems lawyers had with suicide, substance abuse, divorce etc at rates far exceeding the population as a whole or even most professionals. The conventional wisdom was that being a lawyer was stressful and that we needed to look after ourselves better. I believed then and believe today that practicing law while stressful was no more stressful than dozens of other occupations including police and firefighters, airline pilots and mechanics, surgeons and so forth and that the real reason why lawyers had such high rates of suicide, substance abuse, divorce etc was self selection–people with underlying issues gravitated toward law. Sounds like the very same analysis would apply to the study which showed a slight correlation between Tylenol and autism.
@Terry,
Among the top ten professions with the highest suicide rates, physicians and dentists are 1 and 2, respectively. Lawyers are at #8, behind real estate agents and electricians.
https://choicespsychotherapy.net/jobs-with-highest-suicide-rates/
Hey Joel:
Why dentists? That seems unusual. There is no life or death situation there. Maybe school debt. I see you figured out how to link an address to a title. Very professional look!
@Bill,
Dunno, but dentists were #1 back when I was in college about 50 years ago, so it’s been a long-time thing.
Doctors and dentists have the knowledge and tools to kill themselves more easily and painlessly than many others. Police officers have a high rate, too. Having a gun and some idea of how to use it is a job requirement.
Kaleberg:
Thank you for your response. Happy to see you commenting. Just as a matter of record, I am am X-Marine Sergeant and familar with everything up to an 81MM mortar even though my MOS was in Communications.
More than anything, I believe life is short as it is and death comes sooner than what we expect. Mybe t is depression of losing the will to live which spurs people to take their own lives. It is unfortunate and sad.
@Bill,
When it comes to healthcare articles the most professional look to me is a link with a domain name such as NIH, hopkinsmedicine, or mayoclinic. Otherwise, I read no further.
@RC,
Well, those are certainly reliable, but the universe of reliable healthcare-related sources is far larger. As a scientist and professor, I recommend reading broadly–you learn more that way.
Ron:
I take care to make sure the people on Angry Bear have a sufficient background to be stating the commentaries they are making. Joel is real.