Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce a potential link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism in children, according to a Wall Street Journal report. This follows his earlier commitment to launch a “large-scale testing and research initiative” to explore autism’s causes, with a comprehensive report projected for release in September. However, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya from the NIH cautioned that findings could take up to a year.
In response to the report, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) labeled it “speculation,” asserting that their ongoing research aims to clarify the rising autism rates. Tylenol’s manufacturer, Kenvue, also stated that they believe there is no connection between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, reiterating that this information is on their product label.
Medical professionals weighed in, with the U.S. University of Obstetrics and Gynecology stating there is no clear evidence linking safe acetaminophen use during pregnancy to fetal development issues. Dr. John Lapook highlighted a major Swedish study involving 2.5 million children that found no association between acetaminophen use and autism risk. Dr. Christine Ladd-Acosta from Johns Hopkins emphasized the complexity of autism’s causes, noting that existing studies yield contradictory results, and that more research is needed to determine any potential connection between Tylenol and autism.
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