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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 methodology does not seem sound to me. It is a statistical analysis of other studies and is suggesting a correlation, not a causality relation.  

    I try to explain with simpler words. 

    Paracetamol is currently the first treatment for every health issue in UK. I bet that almost every woman took Paracetamol during pregnancy. Even if this study is confirmed, you could not say if Paracetamol was the cause of autism (quite unlikely) or mothers had other health conditions (NHS states "Paracetamol is the first choice of painkiller if you're pregnant. It's commonly taken during pregnancy and does not harm your baby." -https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-adults/pregnancy-breastfeeding-and-fertility-while-taking-paracetamol-for-adults/ ). 

    So, the study is saying that statistically mothers of autistic babies experienced pain (for the most different reasons). It is almost the same of saying that the patient died because their heart stop beating. 

    Maybe, if NHS would stop recommending to use Paracetamol for everything, and they would start investigating the issues instead of covering the symptoms, we may have more detailed correlations that could help serious researches. 

  • in reply to Cris
    Cris said:
    The methodology does not seem sound to me. It is a statistical analysis of other studies and is suggesting a correlation, not a causality relation.  

    They claim neither causality or corrolation, only an association. Their conclusion states:

    Our analyses using the Navigation Guide thus support evidence consistent with an association between acetaminophen exposure during pregnancy and increased incidence of NDDs.

    It is important not to read into something that doesn't exist. This could be confirmation bias which is important to use strict checks against in research.

    The methodology is a standard in research as far as I'm aware. Can you explain how it is defective please?

    I'm actually with the majority in being sceptical that a drug is the cause, but if it makes it more probable the child will be ND then the fact there is connection could lead to a better understanding of what mechanism the drug it triggering.

  • in reply to Iain
    Iain said:
    I'm actually with the majority in being sceptical that a drug is the cause, but if it makes it more probable the child will be ND

    There was once a weak link found between left-handedness and fetal ultrasound scans. That never really caused a scare. I suppose left-handedness is not a fate worse than death, unlike Autism (according to some).

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  • in reply to Iain
    Iain said:
    I'm actually with the majority in being sceptical that a drug is the cause, but if it makes it more probable the child will be ND

    There was once a weak link found between left-handedness and fetal ultrasound scans. That never really caused a scare. I suppose left-handedness is not a fate worse than death, unlike Autism (according to some).

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