Trump links Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism, experts call claim unproven

President Donald Trump suggested on Monday (September 22) that the use of Tylenol during pregnancy may contribute to rising autism rates in the US, a potential link that experts have studied and say is unproven.

Speaking on Monday from the White House, the president said women should not take acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol, “during the entire pregnancy.” He also raised unfounded concerns about vaccines.

Trump also announced that his government has begun the approval process for leucovorin calcium tablets as a potential treatment for a condition associated with autism.

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Rise in autism cases in US

The Trump administration has been under immense pressure from Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's diverse Make America Healthy Again movement to provide answers on the causes of the marked increase in autism cases in the US in recent years.

Experts say the rise in cases is mainly due to a new definition for the disorder that now includes mild cases on a “spectrum” and better diagnoses. They say there is no single cause to the disorder and say the rhetoric appears to ignore and undermine decades of science into the genetic and environmental factors that can play a role.

Trump on Sunday evening (September 21) teased Monday's announcement as a big one, telling reporters, “I think we found an answer to autism.”

Experts say that oversells what would be possible from a presidential administration in its first year. They insist more research is needed to conclusively identify whether and how environmental factors may play a role in the disorder.

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Experts’ opinions

“The evidence simply does not support a link between Tylenol use in pregnancy and autism. Autism is influenced by a mix of genetic and environmental factors, but no single cause has been proven,” said Dr Emily Carter, a child development researcher at Johns Hopkins University.

“Studies have repeatedly found no credible link between life-saving childhood vaccines and autism. Any effort to misrepresent sound, strong science poses a threat to the health of children,” said Dr Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the claims about Tylenol could needlessly alarm expectant mothers, and parents of children with autism.

“Not treating the fever probably has more adverse effects that you need to worry about than taking the medication,” said Fleischman.

David Mandell, associate director of the Centre for Autism Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, was of the opinion that the evidence for leucovorin, sometimes promoted as a treatment for autism, is also weak.

Also Read: Alert! How Bisphenol A exposure during pregnancy might result in autism in boys

Reshaping America’s public health

The announcement about Tylenol is the latest step the Trump administration, driven by Kennedy and his supporters, has taken to reshape America's public health landscape.

Beyond cutbacks at federal health agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been roiled by disagreements over Kennedy's vaccine policies. An influential immunization panel stocked by Kennedy with figures who have been critical of vaccines last week changed shot guidance for COVID-19 and other diseases.

Kennedy for years has promoted debunked theories that vaccines could be responsible for rising rates of autism, which affects 1 in 31 US children today, according to the CDC. Scientists, doctors, and researchers have attributed that increase instead to greater awareness of the disorder and the newer, wide-ranging “spectrum” used to issue diagnoses for people with milder expressions of autism. It's hard to tell if there may be additional factors behind the increase.

(With agency inputs)