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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

  • Paracetamol was not available in UK without a prescription until 1988, so it's highly unlikely the mothers of us older autists would have taken it while pregnant. So if it wasn't the cause of autism decades ago, how could it be increasing autism risk now?

    There seems to be a lot of "clutching at straws" or trying to blame someone /something because autism rates are rising. Whereas the reason is that many of us were missed when we were kids because it wasn't understood then, and more kids now are being diagnosed due to better understanding.

  • in reply to Lotus

    I’m not sure that’s true about paracetamol not being available off prescription in UK until 1988. I’ll research that now. 

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