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possible cause of autism?

Iain

I read with interest a new article on the connection with some painkillers used by pregnant women and having neurodiverse children:

https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/prenatal-painkiller-use-associated-with-autism-adhd-in-children-403513

The study links prenatal paracetamol (or Tylenol for US readers) use to increased autism and ADHD risk.

It does emphasise that this is a very early stage connection and may only be contributory so it is wise not to jump to conclusions.

The actual study is here for those of you with an analytical interest:
https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-025-01208-0

The methodology seems sound and it is designed for peer review which would indicate it is a solid piece of research.

An interesting thought experiment arising from this could be:

If you knew taking this painkiller could increase the risk of your child being neurodiverse, would you still take it (assuming no other health risks were present to mother or child)?

Parents Reply
  • in reply to Autismman

    There is a lack of conclusive evidence to it being man-made and without records going back far enough (where we can accurately diagnose people) it is hard to even establish how old autism actually is.

    It could be it is natural but man-made chemicals make it more likely to happen, but at this stage we really don't know.

Children
  • in reply to Iain

    It’ll be interesting to find out if there ever is a concrete connection made. I know this is something the states are concentrating on highly at the moment. There is a strong genetic link that’s for sure as it’s quite common for many members of one family to have autism or related conditions. However establishing the cause of is harder to find out for sure.