- By Ajeet Kumar
- Sat, 17 Jan 2026 09:36 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Taking paracetamol, known as Tylenol in the US, during pregnancy is safe, a group of European researchers has said, after compiling data in response to US President Donald Trump’s claims last year of a link to autism. In a review published in the British journal The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women’s Health on Saturday, the team said they focused on gathering the best-quality evidence to address the claims.
“Paracetamol is safe to use in pregnancy,” said lead author Asma Khalil, professor of obstetrics and maternal foetal medicine at City St George’s, University of London.
“The key message is reassurance. When used as recommended, the best available evidence does not support a causal link with autism, ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) or intellectual disability.”
Tylenol Not Linked to Autism or ADHD
Khalil said she had been asked about the popular pain medication, also known as acetaminophen, by her patients after Trump in September told pregnant women not to take the drug. At the time, national and international medical groups criticised the president’s comments, saying they were not evidence-based.
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Paracetamol or Tylenol is the only pain reliever considered safe for pregnant women, and doctors already advise using the smallest amount for the shortest time to control pain and fever during pregnancy. Untreated pain or fever can be risky for both pregnant women and their babies.
The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing data, identifying 43 studies that were assessed for quality and bias using a standard tool.
The team focused particularly on studies involving children born to the same mother who took paracetamol or Tylenol during one pregnancy but not another. These studies account for shared genetic factors and family environments that could be linked to autism or related conditions, Khalil said.
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There were only three studies of this type, but they were large, covering more than 260,000 children assessed for autism, and around 335,000 and 405,000 children assessed for ADHD and intellectual disabilities respectively.
Accounting for Bias
The studies showed no significant link between use of the drug and any of the conditions examined. This remained true when results from all high-quality studies were pooled, the authors said.
Khalil said much of the research suggesting a potential link, including a review of 46 studies cited by Trump officials, was prone to bias or confounding factors that her team’s review had tried to account for.
Grainne McAlonan, professor of translational neuroscience at King’s College London, who was not involved in the research, praised the study, saying, “I hope the findings of this study bring the matter to a close.”
(Note: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by The Daily Jagran and has been published through a syndicated feed.)