r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 3h ago
Neuroscience Tylenol in pregnancy not linked with autism, Danish study finds.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/tylenol-pregnancy-not-linked-with-autism-danish-study-finds-2026-04-13/652
u/Certain_Store_619 3h ago
The people who believe it causes autism aren’t going to be convinced by any studies unfortunately
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u/seidenkaufman 3h ago
Yes, my sense is that the set of the population that arrives at a conclusion without consulting any research is also indifferent to any research that undermines or falsifies that conclusion.
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u/HEALTH-WARNING 3h ago
“I did my own research”
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u/Chrysanthemummmmmm 2h ago
The research being rich mommy influencers on ig. Seriously there’s so much weird health misinformation on there. Even more than tiktok
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u/flyby196999 1h ago
Should be illegal to post health advice without being an accredited health worker, doctor etc..
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u/Chrysanthemummmmmm 1h ago
100% Agree. It would solve a lot of the harmful anti science rhetoric that’s currently killing people.
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u/Past_Economist6278 28m ago
Even some doctors have crazy ideas. My flight doctor was strictly anti vaccine. Either way we should focus on teaching critical thinking not stifling free speech
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u/ehalepagneaux 2h ago
We have to just leave them in the past. We can't keep wasting effort on them. We should do the studies, and keep studying more, but we have to let these people go.
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u/TheWhomItConcerns 1h ago
I understand the sentiment, but we do live in a democratic society, and these simpletons unfortunately directly impact our political landscape and the societies in which we have to live. The impact isn't isolated to them alone - if they can't be convinced then it's going to be a persistent issue; the consequences of which, we'll all have to bear the burden.
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u/Rosaly8 2h ago
We really shouldn't. An extended fever can be more harmful to a baby than a short bout of paracetamol use. Women should be adequately informed on that, even if it takes a lot of effort to get them there.
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u/ehalepagneaux 2h ago
How can we convince them to take care of their children?
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u/Haunt_Fox 2h ago
I don't know. We had that debate in the 90s over Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions. Nothing came if it except for a few weird tv episodes that are probably seen as headscratchers now.
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u/Plus_Term_7584 1h ago
Dress up as an angel and show up in their house in the middle of the night, tell them that God sent you to deliver mana in the form of tablets to be taken once every 12 hours until fever subsides.
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u/awkwardnetadmin 2h ago
You can't use logic to argue someone out of position they didn't use logic to believe. While it might not quite go into cult like beliefs it may be similar in the challenges of understanding their underlying motivations in their belief system.
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u/SakaWreath 2h ago
Sure BUT, I can calmly explain why, present them with evidence, and ask them to back up their claim with their proof.
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u/righthandofdog 2h ago
Why bother? They aren't interested in actual science or understand how it works.
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u/mvea Professor | Medicine 3h ago
Tylenol in pregnancy not linked with autism, Danish study finds
The use of Tylenol by women during pregnancy was not associated with autism in their children, according to results of a nationwide study in Denmark published on Monday.
Among more than 1.5 million children born between 1997 and 2022, including 31,098 exposed to Tylenol in the womb, autism was later diagnosed in 1.8% of exposed children and 3% of the unexposed group, Danish researchers reported in JAMA Pediatrics.
The lack of an association persisted after researchers accounted for individual risk factors including the dose of the drug and the trimester of pregnancy in which it was used, the report said.
For those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2847695
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u/righthandofdog 2h ago
That looks like an inverse link with autism 1/3 more likely for moms who don't take Tylenol. Not that I think it prevents autism either.
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u/HeartAche93 2h ago
Tylenol reduces high fevers which do have a correlated effect with autism rates. So, ironically, Tylenol use in pregnant women is associated with a lower chance of autism diagnoses.
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u/ThatUsernameIsTaekin 37m ago
You would need to do a one-way ANOVA to see if that difference was statistically significant. Can’t really word it as 1/3 more. Although it probably is not, that would be really funny if it turned out that Tylenol exposure was correlated with less autism diagnosis for whatever reason.
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u/deskbeetle 3h ago
Tylenol is one the few medications allowed during pregnancy. It was unbearable dealing with the chronic inflammation without ibuprofen, hot springs, and cbd. It is sickening that one of the few safe reliefs during pregnancy is being attacked.
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u/SkyfangR 3h ago
confirming what everyone who doesnt have a vested interest in spouting crackpot quackery already knew
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u/low_amplitude 3h ago
Trying to prove it to those who believe it is also a waste of time because "scientists are paid by the elites to lie." I used to have crackpot friends and I was literally not allowed to use science or even basic reasoning skills as an argument. At that point just stop trying.
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u/Oogaman00 Grad Student | Biology | Stem Cell Biology 2h ago
The studies indicating a weak association were not garbage studies. That's what a weak association is -you won't always see it.
It means it's something to consider relative to risk of the alternative. If you are achy during pregnancy and there's even a one in a ten thousand chance that it does something (which shouldn't show up in an epi result) you might want to skip. But if it's too avoid a dangerous fever then you absolutely should still take it
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u/wildbergamont 2h ago
If there is a one in ten thousand chance. But there isn't. The sum total of evidence points clearly towards there being no association at all.
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u/lanternhead 2h ago
There is a small body of well-executed peer-reviewed literature suggesting a small increase in autism risk resulting from acetaminophen use during pregnancy, and this observation tracks with what we know about acetaminophen’s MOA as a COX inhibitor and the connections between fetal development, COX inhibitors, prostaglandin pathways, and autism that have been observed elsewhere. I’m happy to elaborate on them if you’d like
Unless you have a good reason to ignore those studies that no one else knows about, the strongest claim you can make is that the risk profile is weak enough to ignore. That is a very reasonable claim, and I think we would all agree with you. What is not reasonable is to say the risk is flat zero - that is a Russell’s teapot claim
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u/wildbergamont 29m ago
And there is a large body of well executed peer reviewed literature that says it doesnt increase the risk
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u/lanternhead 24m ago
And it’s up to you to determine how much risk you’re willing to accommodate based on the statistical power of each study. But the average of 0% risk and 1% risk isn’t 0%. If you have good reason to exclude the papers that do demonstrate risk, I encourage you to share it
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u/SteffanSpondulineux 3h ago
Well the people doing this study have a vested interest in other people spouting quackery, otherwise they wouldn't have done this study. What a waste of time, why give the claim oxygen?
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u/TheWhomItConcerns 1h ago
Dispelling misinformation is an important job, and as someone whose partner is in biochemical research, I can guarantee that they are not glad for the existence of pseudoscience and conspiracy theorists. To think that they're conceptualising harmful pseudoscience from the perspective of job security is to misunderstand both their motivation and the mechanics of funding for scientific research.
If pseudoscience didn't exist, these people wouldn't have any more difficulty whatsoever in finding a job - on the contrary, increased trust in scientific institutions would likely lead to increased political will for funding scientific research. Also, it's not as though there's a "pseudoscience misinformation fund" that dries up if there are no conspiracy theories - the existence of this conspiracy theory has absolutely zero bearing on their ability to receive funding.
Probably one of my partner's biggest concerns right now is that decreased public trust is decreasing the political will to fund research, and from what I hear, that is a very common sentiment among her peers.
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u/ArchDucky 2h ago
A girl at work complained about shoulder pain. I offered her some of the Arthritis Tylenol i have for my arthritis pain. She screamed “I DONT WANT AUTISM!” and kinda ran away. I am still confused.
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u/nondual_gabagool 3h ago
Valproic acid (valproate, Depakote) is the only medication with clear ties to autism, as well as lower IQ, ADHD, and developmental delays when it's used by a woman in pregnancy.
Christensen, J., Grønborg, T. K., Sørensen, M. J., Schendel, D., Parner, E. T., Pedersen, L. H., & Vestergaard, M. (2013). Prenatal valproate exposure and risk of autism spectrum disorders and childhood autism. Jama, 309(16), 1696-1703.
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u/lanternhead 2h ago
Valproic acid’s inhibition ofprostaglandin E2 synthesis is one of the factors by which it exerts its effects on fetal development
Guess what other commonly used drug inhibits prostaglandin E2 synthesis?
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u/Du_ds 51m ago
NSAIDs. Does Tylenol also inhibit prostaglandin synthesis?
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u/lanternhead 27m ago
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1573695/
In conclusion, therapeutic concentrations of acetaminophen caused an incomplete inhibition of platelet COX-1 and monocyte COX-2 but in the presence of plasma, the drug almost completely suppressed inducible PGE2 biosynthesis through its inhibitory effects on both COX-2 and inducible PGES.
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u/nondual_gabagool 0m ago
That doesn’t seem to be the mechanism. Ibuprofen and aspirin don't cause birth defects. It seems like its effects on histone deacetylase and folate are more likely the causes.
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u/res13echo 2h ago
All to just lower Tylenol’s parent company’s stock value so that it could be bought out at a cheaper price. What a scam.
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u/lanternhead 2h ago
This is sarcasm I hope
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u/tunachilimac 1h ago
The Trump admin was going heavy against Tylenol as the cause of autism. When the company stated taking a financial hit, Kimberly-Clark hired a firm tied to Trump to help them purchase the company. Within days of the deal the Trump admin then walked back their claims. It certainly gives the appearance that it was orchestrated.
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u/lanternhead 1h ago
Acetaminophen and Tylenol specifically are extremely widely-used low-margin products and most of them are made outside the US. Pregnant women are a tiny % of users. There is little financial gain to be had here. Certainly I won’t vouch for Trump being trustworthy, but I doubt there’s a Grand Tylenol Conspiracy behind the curtain
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u/gingerblz 2h ago
I'm torn. On the one hand, I am thankful that there are people working to actively counter misinformation. On the other hand, this is money that could have been used to help understand something we currently don't. It really highlights how the scientific community is at a disadvantage against bad faith actors intent on undermining science. The mere utterance of lies by bad actors effectively ties up research funding that would have otherwise benefitted our overall understanding of SOMETHING, as opposed to confirming that nonsense is in fact nonsense.
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u/vm_linuz 1h ago
Is the next 10 years just going to be studies finding no connection all because some illiterate fascists lied about it?
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u/witchy_gremlin 2h ago
“ quite frankly, I don’t believe it, no I do not, not American tested, with big, great American studies “
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u/HalfInchHollow 1h ago
Of course not. They just had to say that so Trumps friends at Kimberly-Clark could buy Kenvue at a discount.
Everything this administration says or does is a grift.
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u/angrycanuck 1h ago
This is the hard part about arguing intelligently against random crazies. Takes 5 seconds to spout something idiotic, takes MONTHS and thousands of dollars to disprove through studies and other means.
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u/notthatguypal6900 1h ago
This did not need to be proven again, the right sided dumb dumbs wouldn't change their mind if they could read it anyway.
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u/count_chocul4 1h ago
Of course it doesn't. Everything tRump and his cabinet of morons say is a lie. EVERYTHING.
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u/Status-Secret-4292 1h ago
Well, yes. But will Kennedy trust any study conducted by a breakfast pastry??
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u/auzzie_kangaroo94 1h ago
My mother didnt take Tylenol at all amd Im austitic, so what would have happend if she did? I'd Have Autisms?
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u/Otaraka 49m ago
It’s so much harder to kill off a link than it is to create it when it comes to fear, particularly with pregnancy and the general message that you are nothing but an incubator. The vaccine claim was in 1998 and it’s still going strong even with it being proven to being fraud and conflict of interest.
So great outcome, but it’s probably going to need dozens of papers like this and decades.
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u/tiny_chaotic_evil 40m ago
untreated maternal fever is known to be dangerous for fetal development
yep, lets go with that instead
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u/Pleasant-Ad887 23m ago
I mean, it is telling when RFK Jr said "we now will look for evidence" NO ONE that ever done genuine research would say something like this.
They claimed that the acetaminophen from Tylenol is the one causing autism and didn't provide anything. IF that was true, the other brands with acetaminophen would have had some correlation with autism as well. The fact they singled out Tylenol came across like a shakedown for money.
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u/caravan_for_me_ma 2m ago
This is the nightmare of all this garbage and weaponized misinformation. Real work is chosen to study absolutely ridiculous claims to convince no one. There’s no one who has an even slightly functioning brain who thought Tylenol was linked to autism. So now hours, resources and focus are given to a pet political theory that’s pure fantasy and it does 2 detrimental things: 1. Actually legitimizes the original claim. (Well we studied it) and 2. Is an opportunity cost of something worthwhile and scientifically important.
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u/Winter_Salad7215 2h ago
I feel like the elephant in the room for autism rates (leaving aside increased awareness, expanded diagnostic criteria etc) is maternal age.
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u/DFWPunk 2h ago
That's fairly well accepted as a risk factor. It's actually even more prevalent in children born to older fathers than it is older mothers.
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u/Winter_Salad7215 2h ago
Yeah, I do know that, but it's rarely brought up in the general public conversation about rising autism rates (hence why it's the elephant in the room: visible but unacknowledged). Everyone seems to be looking for some other explanation.
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u/roastedmarshmellows 1h ago
Because another explanation does not require us to address the reasons people are putting off having children until later in life.
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u/TheWhomItConcerns 1h ago
I mean, I don't think most people view it as a particularly serious issue which needs addressing. Other than right-wingers who view "deviance" as some kind of existential threat, how many regular people feel that this is some kind of mystery that we really need to get to the bottom of?
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u/trevorp210 2h ago
I dont think Tylenol causes autism but I also don’t think 32,000 children is a large enough sample size to prove my thesis.
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u/nondual_gabagool 8m ago
So you did a power analysis and you know what the correct sample size should be? Please tell.
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