On Monday, President Donald Trump’s White House is reportedly set to announce that using Tylenol, or generic acetaminophen, during pregnancy may contribute to increased cases of autism.
Two senior administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity shared the brief with Politico and added that the White House would highlight leucovorin, used in cancer and anemia treatments, as a potential therapy for people with autism. (RELATED: RFK Jr. Report To Link Autism To Tylenol Use In Pregnancy)
Trump teased Friday that his administration “maybe” has “a reason why” autism is “totally out of control” after having tasked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to spearhead research into its causes. (RELATED: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Vows Swift, Transparent Autism Research Initiative)
The news conference is scheduled for Monday at 4 p.m.
Key Studies
A 2024 report from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that acetaminophen, the medication in Tylenol used to mitigate pain, was not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analyses when used during pregnancy.
Researchers noted that associations observed in other models may have been attributable to confounding.
Despite their findings, hundreds of lawsuits alleging the drug created disorders in children have been filed in court, the Journal reported. Still, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the public health agency would wait to receive more data addressing concerns before publishing updated guidelines for medicine usage.
Medical officials, however, are divided on the Tylenol claim, Politico reported, with Kennedy himself reportedly reluctant to issue a warning.
Tylenol’s parent company, Kenvue, has already hit back, insisting: “There is no credible evidence linking acetaminophen to autism.”
Context & Interpretations
- Association ≠ causation. These studies are mostly observational. That means while they can suggest links, they cannot prove that acetaminophen causes autism. Other factors could be at play (confounding). For example, if a pregnant person takes acetaminophen because of a high fever or infection, the infection or fever itself might impact fetal development.
- Sibling‑comparison studies (like the Swedish cohort) are especially interesting, because they try to control for shared genetic + family environment factors. When such controls are included, associations often weaken or disappear.
- Dose, timing, duration seem to matter in many studies. Higher doses or longer use tend to show stronger associations in many analyses. But measuring dose precisely (especially for over‑the‑counter, non‑prescription use) is hard.
- Bias & measurement issues are substantial — e.g. recall bias (asking people after the fact about their use), misclassification of exposure, unmeasured confounders.
- Biological plausibility: Some studies discuss possible mechanisms (oxidative stress, hormonal effects, etc.), but these are theoretical at this point, and human data are limited for mechanistic pathways.
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