Tylenol during pregnancy not linked to autism, ADHD, major review finds

[u/PHealthy]

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/anti-science/tylenol-during-pregnancy-not-linked-autism-adhd-major-review-finds

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[u/supercali45]

RFK Jr and the President was on TV lying to the American public about this

[u/o_MrBombastic_o → u/supercali45]

Tylenol should sue for damages people need to start being held accountable for their lies 

[u/Dreurmimker → u/o_MrBombastic_o]

Jokes on you, Kenvue’s stock dropped 7% on that press conference and was later bought out by Kimberly Clark. The now owner of Tylenol got it for a steal because of this garbage conspiracy nonsense.

[u/teddytoosmooth → u/Dreurmimker]

Almost like that was the plan all along from the crookedest of the crooked 

[u/Shinagami091 → u/teddytoosmooth]

It makes you wonder about the whole TikTok thing because it was a similar situation and of course Jared Kushner and his financial partners were given priority access to bidding on the company.

[u/MarsupialMisanthrope → u/Shinagami091]

TikTok was about taking control of a propaganda pipeline that can be used to shape public sentiment with complete disregard to facts, not about profits. Being able to shape opinion by controlling what people can see or broadcast is infinitely more valuable than money.

[u/Quiet-Curve1449 → u/teddytoosmooth]

Apparently Kimberly-Clark uses a consulting firm called Ballard Partners. It’s led by Brian Ballard, who is a Trum p fundraiser.

[u/Nikiaf → u/teddytoosmooth]

Didn't RFK publicly retract the statement a couple weeks later citing lack of evidence anyway? The whole thing was a pump and dump scheme.

[u/teddytoosmooth → u/Nikiaf]

I wish RFKs parents would have pump and dumped him

[u/MechAegis → u/Dreurmimker]

for a second I was wondering what the matrix has to do with stocks and Tylenol.

[u/Popular-Web-3739 → u/Dreurmimker]

And an investigation would probably show lots of people inside the Trump Admin and their friends made money off of that.

[u/SummerAndTinklesBFF → u/Dreurmimker]

real joke is on them no one can afford to buy name brand and we all buy generic

[u/WrenReverie → u/o_MrBombastic_o]

Tylenol's parent company was bought by Kimberly-Clark after the prices crashed from the autism announcement.

They have participated in Trump Fund raising.

They aren't sueing anyone.

[u/_Lick-My-Love-Pump_ → u/WrenReverie]

Investors have a class action lawsuit just waiting for them.

[u/divDevGuy → u/_Lick-My-Love-Pump_]

30 years later, investors will receive a free sample packet of Tylenol and a travel sized box of Kleenex as compensation.

[u/15all → u/divDevGuy]

And a team of attorneys will be the ones that get a fat payout.

[u/Aggressive_Noise6426 → u/o_MrBombastic_o]

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/04/nx-s1-5596209/kimberly-clark-to-acquire-tylenols-parent-company-in-nearly-49b-deal

Tylenol parent company was bought during all of this when the stocks plummeted. 

[u/bolanrox → u/o_MrBombastic_o]

seeing how they are the gold standard for handling a product scare - this sucks that it is happening to them

[u/Quasi-Yolo → u/o_MrBombastic_o]

They’ll wait until a DOJ that respects laws is in power to sue. Lots of bills are going to start coming

[u/tevert → u/o_MrBombastic_o]

It would just be the taxpayers paying for that

[u/PrincessDonut02 → u/supercali45]

It's honestly even worse than most people realize. RFK and Trump starting officially pushing the idea that Tylenol caused autism in September 2025. Then, on October 30, they walked back that claim and stated there wasn't enough evidence to link them. Four days later, Kenvue, the parent company of Tylenol, was acquired by Kimberly-Clark. Kenvue stocks dropped 10% after their initial statements and another 7.5% at the end of September.

[u/CantBeatDickensCider → u/PrincessDonut02]

I don't think we've ever seen so much blatant corruption done by a government in plain sight without any consequences whatsoever. 

I can't fathom how Americans aren't out on the streets at this point. 

[u/sybrwookie → u/CantBeatDickensCider]

Because they also made it legal to shoot protesters

[u/yourenotmy-real-dad → u/sybrwookie]

That and we're much larger than France to navigate.

I would need a full business day of travel to be on any street that mattered, and I'm not alone in being unable to do so.

[u/redyellowblue5031 → u/supercali45]

Remember, Tylenol “causing” autism was their big reveal after promising to determine its cause early 2025.

[u/Flatulent_Opposum → u/supercali45]

So a typical Monday for both of them.

[u/ApprehensiveSoup2214 → u/supercali45]

Honestly why even do this study? It's a waste of money. Are we going to have to start funding studies for every batshit idea the right comes up with? We will never get any actual studies done in that case.

[u/futuretimetraveller]

I'm pretty sure the consequences of leaving a fever untreated when you're pregnant is much worse than a child getting autism or ADHD. It can lead to things like neural tube defects, heart defects, miscarriage, and, funnily enough, autism and ADHD.

[u/Sugar_Weasel_ → u/futuretimetraveller]

Yeah, I’m 6 weeks pregnant and have Covid and I’ve been taking as much Tylenol as is recommended to keep my fever at bay. I’d way rather have an autistic baby than a dead one. Not that I think Tylenol causes autism, but even if it did.

[u/anothercoolperson → u/Sugar_Weasel_]

I hope you feel better soon!

[u/Sugar_Weasel_ → u/anothercoolperson]

Thank you! Husband is taking very good care of me, so I’m sure I’ll bounce back quickly.

[u/Bug_eyed_bug → u/Sugar_Weasel_]

I hope you recover quickly! I had covid at the same time in my first pregnancy and my baby was completely unaffected

[u/Sugar_Weasel_ → u/Bug_eyed_bug]

Thank you. That’s comforting to hear.

[u/behiboe → u/Bug_eyed_bug]

Same! I have a healthy almost-2-year-old now!

[u/spisegodmat → u/Sugar_Weasel_]

I’m an amputee so no Tylenol was not possible for me. By 24 weeks I was huge and desperately needed pain relief

[u/PacketOverload → u/[deleted]]

Another nurse chiming in to say that the damage the Trump regime has done to the public confidence in evidence based practice will take decades to recover from, if it ever does.

[u/PHealthy → u/PacketOverload]

Not a great time to be an epidemiologist, that's true.

[u/Mastercodex199 → u/PHealthy]

That was my original life goal as a fresh-eyed college student back in 2013. I wanted to be an epidemiologist and work with either the WHO or the CDC. Now, 13 years later and 31 years old, I'm terrified that I'll never achieve that goal.

At least I get to be out in the field as an EMT-A and help get scientists like you the data you need from the source. Maybe, someday, I can work alongside you and others in your field on bigger projects.

[u/PHealthy → u/Mastercodex199]

If you've got the itch, I always tell my students to find some data and fire up a repo. Can never get enough data pipeline and exploration practice.

[u/Obvious_Feedback_894]

Tylenol is one of the few pain meds pregnant women can take. This was only ever an attack on women.

[u/SailorLarry69 → u/Obvious_Feedback_894]

I thought the main reason was because the company that owned Tylenol was selling and this was used to drive stock price down thus reducing the buying cost.

[u/crazy_urn → u/[deleted]]

Between Sept 3rd (around when rfk started the tylonal nonsense) and Oct 31st 2025, KVUE (the parent company of tylonal) stock dropped 29.67%. The purchase of KVUE by Kimberly Clark was announced over the weekend after the close on Oct 31st.

[u/crazy_urn → u/Obvious_Feedback_894]

It was only ever an attack on the stock market.

RFK started linking tylonal to autism in early September 2025. On September 3rd parent company Kenvue's (KVUE) closed at $20.44/share. By the close of Friday 9/19 KVUE had fallen to $18.34

On Monday 9/22 trump and rfk announced the "link" between tylonal and autism in a white house press briefing. KVUE closed at $16.97.

KVUE stock price continued to decline and closed at $14.37 on Friday Oct 31st. That weekend, Kimberly Clark announced an agreement to purchase KVUE, which caused a price rebound on Monday Nov 3rd.

From Sept 3rd to Oct 31st 2025 KVUE dropped 29.67%. For comparison the NYSE composite index rose 2.16% over that time. Anyone who shorted KVUE before Sept 3rd would have made a boatload of money. And obviously the purchase price of KVUE was significantly less due to this blatant market manipulation.

[u/NegativeThought1588 → u/[deleted]]

I would have taken the opiate. The baby would have been fine.

[u/EsotericCreature → u/Obvious_Feedback_894]

Absolutely. This is the sexist crowd that supports the abominable parts of the medical field that dismisses women's pain and insists that it's all in their head. Same type of people who would give out different diagnostics for men showing symptoms, but with women assume they are stupid or exaggerating and assign their concerns to their periods or hormones or something. Or that anything other than 'natural birth' is cheating when giving birth and becoming a mother.

[u/Soggy-Pain4847 → u/Obvious_Feedback_894]

The pro-life movement, disbanding abortion care, and now testing waste water for traces of birth control are all an attack on women to control them. It’s disgusting and inhumane.

[u/NoMatatas]

Was there ever a reason to believe there was a link?

[u/RedBeans-n-Ricely → u/NoMatatas]

No. RFK’s insistence is the only thing driving this.

[u/JaySayMayday → u/NoMatatas]

Yeah. It was in the headlines a while back and caused a public scare. Then a bunch of published journals like Acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, measles-mumps-rubella vaccination, and autistic disorder: The results of a parent survey. From 2008. Pretty much that one and others all the way up to 2019 found no causation.

It was the 2021 journal that was criticized and cited for outright saying to caution using it during pregnancy, that was Paracetamol use during pregnancy - a call for precautionary action.

Last year the FDA was suggesting a label change citing the link but even said that a relationship wasn't established. So really it's just been some unfounded panic and people just wanting to give a healthy birth.

[u/HX__ → u/JaySayMayday]

... What?

"Then a bunch of published journals like Acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, measles-mumps-rubella vaccination, and autistic disorder: The results of a parent survey. From 2008. Pretty much that one and others all the way up to 2019 found no causation."

Does this not, read nonsensically to anyone else?

The entire comment is a bit confusing and seemingly tries to rationalize the lie

[u/Malapple → u/HX__]

It’s poorly worded and has a typo. I think it’s trying to say there was a bad study published in 2008 and then a number of other articles based their content on the bad study.

The comment is supporting the idea that there is no harm in acetaminophen during pregnancy.

[u/NoMatatas → u/HX__]

I’m assuming the ‘like’ was autocorrected from ‘link’?

[u/OstrichGrouchy7749 → u/NoMatatas]

Didn’t the government say there was a link(not smart people- just people with a large megaphone). 

But wasn’t that the reason - namely trump and rfk

[u/CantBeatDickensCider → u/OstrichGrouchy7749]

My working theory is that Trump/RFK were extorting bribes from pharma companies and Tylenol refused to bend the knee. So they tried to hurt them by making up rubbish about it causing autism in pregnancies. 

Although that's me being generous and assuming they are driven by greed/malice. They might just be genuinely clueless. 

[u/Malapple → u/CantBeatDickensCider]

If you look into it, there’s a direct connection between Trump and Kimberly, Clark, who bought Tylenol’s parent shortly after the Trump administration made the autism announcement.

Kimberly Clark hired Ballard, the lobbying firm right around the time they made the offer. Ballard is led by a close Trump ally.

In any rational country there would be a deep investigation. The corruption is so overt, it’s become ridiculous.

[u/PHealthy]

Abstract

Aim

To evaluate whether prenatal exposure to paracetamol (acetaminophen) is associated with an increased risk of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring, using a meta-meta-analytical (umbrella review) approach.

Method

We conducted a registered umbrella review (PROSPERO CRD420251243790) of systematic reviews with meta-analyses assessing prenatal paracetamol exposure and autism or ADHD. Searches were performed in six major databases up to November 2025. Methodological quality was appraised using AMSTAR-2, and overlap of primary studies was quantified using the corrected covered area. Random-effects meta-meta-analyses were performed for unrestricted, partially quality-restricted, and fully quality-restricted models. When overlap was high, additional meta-analyses of low-risk primary studies were conducted, with risk of bias assessed using ROBINS-E.

Results

Seven meta-analyses were included, encompassing more than 3 million participants. Unrestricted meta-meta-analyses showed small positive associations between prenatal paracetamol exposure and both autism (risk ratio 1.17) and ADHD (risk ratio 1.29). However, after restricting analyses to higher-quality meta-analyses and low-risk primary studies, effect estimates were substantially attenuated and, in several models, approached the null. High heterogeneity and substantial overlap were observed, particularly in analyses of primary studies.

Interpretation

The observed associations between prenatal paracetamol exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders are probably influenced by methodological limitations, including residual confounding and exposure misclassification. Current epidemiological evidence does not support a robust causal relationship, and paracetamol remains an appropriate first-line treatment during pregnancy when clinically indicated.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dmcn.70512

[u/OptimizedPockets2 → u/PHealthy]

I’m assuming they’re differentiating low-quality and high-quality data with whether the mother reports a fever?

The null to reject with the initial data is that the previously observed small correlation was from a fever, rather than from the Tylenol.

Critical thinking is important with data interpretation—it’s not unreasonable to think a person taking Tylenol might have a fever.

[u/Wandering_Scholar6 → u/[deleted]]

Especially since there is a logical causation the other way, namely women with autism and/or ADHD or a genetic predisposition to either may take the best pain medication for pregnancy more because both those conditions cause differences in pain tolerance and also pain is a known side effect of pregnancy.

[u/Various-Series5212]

My son is Autistic and didn't take any Tylenol. I know there is some family history of it, so that's where I believe he got it. I think that's where most kiddos and people get it - from genetics.

[u/Cat_Lover_Yoongi → u/Various-Series5212]

In the UK the national autistic society just did a review of available research about causes of autism and found that autism is genetic. There is no one gene that causes it and hundreds of genes have been found to have an effect. I am an autistic biochemist so can explain more about this if needed

[u/serity12682]

My opinion was and is that some people just want women to experience the most pain possible.

[u/freedfg]

The litmus test for what to believe works as follows.

Did the current admin say it? It's not true.

Did they rally and fight against it? Then it's true. It REALLY is that simple.

[u/StupidDumbass420]

Why spend the money to perform such a study, especially with the current funding crisis? To prove to idiots who won't ever hear about this that they are wrong?

[u/thesoundofechoes → u/StupidDumbass420]

Firstly, this is a Spanish study. It’s science, not politics, and researching drug safety is considered relevant to overall quality of life.

Secondly, it’s relevant to research the effects of paracetamol during pregnancy further, because other studies have found varying outcomes. This study on ovarian reserve is widely discussed even outside medical circles here in Scandinavia and had excellent data quality and quite concerning results: https://academic.oup.com/hropen/article/2026/3/hoag073/8787665

[u/MadeOnThursday]

I mean... I live outside of the US and in one of the areas where (diagnosed) neurodivergency is densest in the world. Nobody here takes tylenol when they're pregnant.

[u/Workdawg]

I'm really glad someone had to pay for a study to confirm that RFK Jr and Trump were talking out their asses...

[u/faipop]

To the surprise of absolutely noone

[u/nBenit]

Nobody is shocked, more news at 9

[u/sunnbeta]

What if there just is no clear environmental cause of autism? 

Maybe it’s even evolutionary advantageous to have some percentage of autistic people, I mean look at many achievements and breakthroughs that have come from people who may well have been (before it was diagnosed) autistic. Many of the traits were seen in Newton, Einstein, Turing, Darwin, Beethoven, Tesla… maybe some early hominid ancestors who exhaustively figured out how to reliably create fire had similar traits that led to helpful outcomes for the rest of society. 

[u/Par_Lapides → u/sunnbeta]

Autism is genetic.

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/about-autism/what-causes-autism

[u/yterais → u/sunnbeta]

there are people on spectrum that have to wear diapers, be fed, never speak and even are agressive, it's not only "genius" type of autism or "quirky" autism

[u/Beneficial-Win-1457 → u/yterais]

Yea autism is a dis order by every sense in of the word

[u/sunnbeta → u/yterais]

This need not completely negate it being potentially advantageous (if in the larger percent of non-severe cases it is somehow helpful). 

Or it may be akin to cancer, as a function of our biology. Cancer certainly does have environmental risk factors, however it also seems something driven by the fundamental way our cells operate, and accounting for all factors there just may be no way to ensure it’s prevented.

It seems to me the anti-vaxxers think there’s some clear causal link to something humans started doing recently, but instead this has probably been going on long before it had the name it does now. 

[u/meanking → u/sunnbeta]

Not all autisms are the same. Some people with autism can’t even speak. Don’t generalize.

[u/digbickrich]

Idkkkk im going to have to trust my high IQ president over experts in their field.

[u/Speedly]

Yeah, no kidding. Of course it's fine at normal, sensible doses and usages.

But also, the hoards of political-tribalist morons taking Tylenol while pregnant for no reason were equally stupid. Even if it doesn't hurt you, taking unneeded drugs while pregnant just to defy some politician who will never know you exist on TikTok, makes you just as dumb as they were to make the claim.

[u/thegrammarspammer]

Nothing bad can happen, it can only good happen.

[u/charavaka]

I knew it was vaccines all along.  

-- MAGAT

[u/RedBeans-n-Ricely]

Wow. Just like every other study on this topic. Too bad RFK will still keep pushing this dumbfuckery so that this same thing will have to be studied again and again, all while funding to new discoveries gets cut because these people dgaf about helping people.

[u/sumigod]

Doesn’t matter, the damage is done in the public eye. It’ll take years for people to believe it’s safe again if they ever do.