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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

  • The whole MMR thing make me very wary of anything like this.

    And even if there is a correlation it doesn't mean causation, as other's have said. If there is a genetic link then ND parents are more likely to have ND kids, and ND kids are therefore more likely to have ND parents. And maybe ND people for some reason are more likely to take paracetamol when they are pregnant? That would lead to a correlation between taking paracetamol in pregnancy and having a ND kid, but in no way would it be the cause.

Reply

  • The whole MMR thing make me very wary of anything like this.

    And even if there is a correlation it doesn't mean causation, as other's have said. If there is a genetic link then ND parents are more likely to have ND kids, and ND kids are therefore more likely to have ND parents. And maybe ND people for some reason are more likely to take paracetamol when they are pregnant? That would lead to a correlation between taking paracetamol in pregnancy and having a ND kid, but in no way would it be the cause.

Children
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