Fredericksburg Parent

16 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • October 2025 Recently the White House released a statement saying that "Evidence Suggests Link Between Acetaminophen, Autism." That announcement drew rebuke from a number of quarters, including the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, which released a statement saying, in part: To be clear, SMFM stands behind our recommendation that acetaminophen use during pregnancy has not been shown to cause or increase the risk of autism or other neu- robehavioral problems in children. The Advance joined a call sponsored by SciLine featuring Dr. Brian Lee of Drexel University. Lee is co-author of a study published last year in JAMA, "Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children's Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability," which fol- lowed 2,480,797 children born between 1995 and 2019 in Sweden, with follow- up through December 31, 2021 That study concluded that "Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was not associated with children's risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis." Understanding the discrepancy in these positions requires better under- standing the research being cited. WRITTEN BY MARTIN DAVIS What Moms Should Know About Autism Risk While the White House last month stressed a possible connection between Tylenol use among pregnant woman and autism, the body of research paints a far more complex reality. Editor's Note: The following piece covers statements made by the White House last month regard- ing Tylenol use and a link to autism, and research carried out by scientists exploring that connec- tion. This piece does not offer medical advice, and people should always defer to their physician on matters of care and medication. Is Tylenol Safe During Pregnancy? Lee said that the study published in JAMA by himself and his coauthors is a "two-part story." When Lee and his coau- thors looked at the kids of mothers who used acetamin- ophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, during pregnancy and those who didn't use acetamino- phen, "we found a slight statistical increase in risk of autism and ADHD." But does this mean that acetaminophen is causing autism and ADHD? "When we look at users [of acetaminophen] versus non-users," Lee said, "this is kind of an apples to oranges comparison because the users are so different in many ways." He notes, for example, that people taking acetaminophen are sicker than those who aren't taking the medicine because "they have a medical condition that needs treatment." The other issue concerns the connection between neurodevelopmental disorders and genetics. "Autism is a highly heritable condition," Lees said, "and … when you just look at users ver- sus non-users, it sort of ignores that aspect." Apples to Oranges

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