Is Trump’s claim that paracetamol, aka Tynenol, is linked to autism, true? The evidence is in
The US government’s claim that taking commonly used painkillers during pregnancy increases the risk of babies being born with autism has been refuted by a rigorous scientific review.
US President Donald Trump warned pregnant women to stay away from paracetamol (commonly known as Tylenol in the US) in September. Trump and his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., relied on two papers reporting a small association between drugs and autism.
A new article has been published Lancet Saturday’s incident strengthens the wealth of evidence to conclude that no such connection exists. The authors reviewed 43 past studies and reanalyzed data from 17 using stringent parameters that filtered out weaker findings.
The authors prioritized studies comparing children born to the same mother in whom one sibling was exposed to paracetamol during pregnancy and the other was not.
University of Adelaide pregnancy researcher Dr. “This approach is important because it helps separate the effects of the drug from family history, genetics and shared environment,” said Anya Arthurs.
Arthurs, who was not involved in the new study, said the reasons why pregnant women take the drug (such as infection or inflammation) affect the child’s development much more than the drug itself.
Autism mostly geneticand the large increase in rates of the disorder is likely due to the expansion of diagnostic criteria.
Trump’s claim sparked concerns that pregnant women might avoid treating their fevers with acetaminophen, which is dangerous for mother and child.
But Julie Leask, professor of public health at the University of Sydney, said the misinformation had not had its impact.
“This will have some impact, but I don’t expect the impact on pregnant people in Australia to be huge,” said Leask, an expert on vaccine hesitancy.
According to a poll by KFF Tracking, only 4 percent of Americans believe Trump’s claim is “absolutely true,” while 35 percent called it completely false and the rest are unsure.
Leask said swift condemnation of the claim by health agencies and mainstream media could help “psychologically inoculate” people against misleading information.
While it can be extremely difficult to “debunk” false or conspiratorial information once someone begins to believe it, studies have shown that warning people about misinformation before it reaches them — called “pre-disputing” — can prevent false claims from occurring.
“If misinformation comes out, you warn people in advance and mentally prepare them for what they might hear and why it’s wrong… That mentally protects them against that misinformation,” Leask said.
Dr. is a research fellow at Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia). Chris Edwards agreed that scientists’ clear messaging had helped dispel unnecessary concerns about paracetamol and autism.
Edwards, who has autism himself, said the rhetoric of preventing or “curing” autism has a lasting impact on a stigmatized community.
“Autism is not a disease. It’s part of who we are,” Edwards said. “What causes harm are the obstacles we face: inaccessible environments, inadequate healthcare, discrimination and lack of understanding.
“When the focus is on eliminating autism rather than overcoming these barriers, attention shifts away from the things that truly improve the lives of autistic people.”
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