On January 8, 2025, an Instagram content creator @tomandlaurenhealth posted a video clip from an unidentifiable news channel that reported that taking paracetamols during pregnancy can be linked to children having Autism and ADHD.
The 1 minute 52 seconds footage was shared on the platform with the caption: “Not so “safe and effective” after all. Add this one to the list…Follow for more: @tomandlaurenhealth. Other accounts: @tomandlaurentruths @laurenmariahealth. Find us on: TIKTOK – @TomAndLaurenHealth; TWITTER – @TomLaurenHealth; FACEBOOK – Nutrition with Tom and Lauren. Also, you can now join our FREE COMMUNITY on DISCORD with this link:
As of the time this report was published, the post had gained over 32,700 likes and about 700 comments. Due to the claims being made relating to the health of pregnant women and their developing foetus, NV-A went ahead to verify the authenticity of the claim.
VERIFICATION
What is ADHD and Autism?
According to the American Psychiatric Association, APA, Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD is a mental disorder that affects a person’s behaviour. It is characterized by a pattern of inattention,hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Autism Speaks, an online column created to talk and inform people on what Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) refers to the spectrum as a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviour/speech and non-verbal communication.
Is the research true?
The researcher took screenshots from the video and put it through reverse image search to locate the original video, however, no results were found. But keyword searches, ‘9news pregnancy autism adhd,’ turned up various results including a news article from 9news from October 2019.
On October 31, 2019, 9news published a news report titled, ‘Pregnant women shouldn’t be alarmed by paracetamol research,’ inside the article, there was an embedded video similar to the one posted by @tomandlaurenhealth. The video contained the same content, watermarks and news item except for the watermark on the top right corner saying, ‘TOXINS IN CHILDREN’.
The referenced report stated that researchers have found foetal exposure to paracetamol was associated with a significantly increased risk of childhood ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. This research paper is titled, ‘Association of Cord Plasma Biomarkers of In Utero Acetaminophen Exposure With Risk of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Childhood’ and was published in JAMA Psychiatry on October 30, 2019.
“Researchers analyzed data from the Boston Birth Cohort, a 20-year study of early life factors influencing pregnancy and child development. They found that children whose cord blood samples contained the highest levels of acetaminophen—the generic name for the drug Tylenol—were roughly three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder later in childhood, compared to children with the lowest levels of acetaminophen in their cord blood,” Johns Hopkins University reported.
In 2021, a group of researchers, including several Swedish ones, warned in an article in Nature Reviews Endocrinology that paracetamol during pregnancy could increase the risk of autism, ADHD and intellectual disability.
What does new research say?
According to a 2024 research paper published electronically by the National Library of Medicine, an extensive research was carried out through which the researchers studied prescription records and antenatal records of persons who used paracetamol during pregnancy.
The researchers conducted the largest epidemiological analysis to date on the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and the risk of giving birth to children with autism, ADHD or intellectual disability and found no association.
An image of the research results.
“The researchers used registry data for 2.4 million children born in Sweden between 1995 and 2019. They then used the prescription register and reports to midwives during pregnancy to study the nearly 186,000 children whose mothers were treated with paracetamol during pregnancy. These children were then compared with their own siblings in cases where the mother had not been treated with paracetamol when she was pregnant with them.”
“During the study’s follow-up of up to 26 years, the researchers saw a slight increase in the prevalence of autism, ADHD and intellectual disability in the entire population. However, when siblings exposed and unexposed to paracetamol in utero were compared, the researchers found no differences,” as reported in the research paper titled, ‘Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability’ published in JAMA on April 9, 2024.
Expert Speak
NV-A spoke with Dr. Abubakar Zubair, a medical personal and MBBS lecturer at the Baze University Abuja on the matter. He said that the use of Paracetamol cannot be linked to the cause of ADHD or Autism in children.
However, Zubair advised that paracetamol use by pregnant persons should be on their doctors or physician’s orders.
CONCLUSION
The claim that the use of paracetamol during pregnancy can be linked to ADHD and Autism in children is FALSE, findings from new research published in 2024 found no association.
