A new study has been published refuting the claim by former U.S. President Donald Trump that taking Tylenol, a fever reducer and pain reliever, during pregnancy is safe.
According to Reuters on January 17 (local time), a research team led by Professor Asma Khalil at St George’s, University of London, published a review article presenting these findings in the medical journal 'The Lancet Obstetrics and Gynecology'.
This paper presents the latest research results that counter President Trump's claim. In September of last year, President Trump urged pregnant women not to take Tylenol, claiming that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, increases the risk of giving birth to a child with autism.
Professor Khalil stated that her team focused on gathering highly reliable evidence to verify President Trump’s claim, emphasizing that “the use of Tylenol during pregnancy is safe.”
She further explained, “When taken as recommended, the best available evidence does not support a causal relationship between Tylenol use and autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or intellectual disability.”
The research team conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing data, selecting and analyzing 43 studies that could verify the safety of Tylenol. As a result, no significant association was found between the use of the medication and these conditions, and the conclusion remained the same even when all selected study data were combined and analyzed together.
Professor Khalil pointed out that many previous studies suggesting a possible link between Tylenol and autism, including those cited by the Trump administration, were vulnerable to bias or confounding variables. The research team stated that they made efforts to adjust for these factors.
Because acetaminophen has long been considered virtually the only medication that pregnant women can safely take for fever and pain relief, President Trump’s claim of a link to autism sparked significant controversy in the health and medical communities.
At the time, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union (EU) both refuted President Trump’s claim as unfounded, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also acknowledged that there is no established causal relationship between acetaminophen use and giving birth to a child with autism. Medical organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine also stated that acetaminophen use during pregnancy is safe.
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