April 12, 2024 – Scientists and researchers have been long raised concerns About the potential increased risks autism And ADHD Avoid taking acetaminophen during pregnancy, though FDA And J American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists It is said to be safe to use when you are carrying a baby.
But the new findings should comfort pregnant women who need pain relief, given that Full dose aspirin And nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs It has been shown to pose serious risks to pregnant patients.
A large study found that taking over-the-counter pain relievers with acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, during pregnancy may increase the risk of your child having autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or a There is no increased risk of intellectual disability.
If a pregnancy results in an abnormal outcome, patients are often quick to blame themselves, picking at every moment that may have gone wrong during their pregnancy, says Jeffrey Koller, MD, a obstetrician at Duke University. A fetal medicine expert explained.
“Remember bias is a real thing,” said Collier, who was not involved with the study. “This is a crime. ‘Did I cause this? Was it because of the cigarette I smoked or the drink I drank before I knew I was pregnant?”
In fact, when a child has autism, ADHD, or learning disabilities, the reasons are usually many, and we still do not fully understand why some children have these problems with brain development.
“I think it’s highly unlikely that it was the Tylenol that someone took during pregnancy that caused these results,” Collier said. “It’s a huge reach and just a way to make people who are already feeling bad about a difficult situation feel a lot worse.”
The study, led by researchers from Drexel University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, was published this week. J Journal of the American Medical Associationanalyzed medical record data from approximately 2.5 million children born in Sweden from 1995 to 2019.
The results showed a slightly increased risk of autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities in children exposed to acetaminophen during pregnancy compared to those who were not. But when the data was expanded to include full-sibling pairs (those from the same biological parents), no evidence was found to link Tylenol to a higher risk of autism, ADHD, or learning disabilities.
Using sibling analysis in a large study like this one uncovers genetic and environmental factors that weren’t seen before. The authors say that the modest link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities when sibling controls are not taken into account is likely passed through genes that cause developmental problems and Because “those who used acetaminophen during pregnancy reported higher rates of several health conditions associated with neurodevelopmental disorders compared to non-users,” they wrote.
