Multiple research studies on over 200,000 children total have been completed, and all showed links between taking Tylenol during pregnancy and the elevated risks of autism and ADHD diagnoses, as well as other neurological disorders in children exposed.
In September 2021, a Consensus Statement from 91 doctors, scientists, clinicians, and public health officials was published in Nature Reviews Endocrinology titled “Paracetamol use during pregnancy – a call for precautionary action”.
The new study explains that using Tylenol or other paracetamol products during pregnancy puts children at a higher risk for developing neurological disorders such as:
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Language delays
- Decreased IQ levels
- Cerebral palsy
- Oppositional-defiant disorder
- Conduct disorder
- Decreased executive function
Tylenol and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
The possible link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism has become clearer due to multiple scientific studies on infant cohorts across the world:
- 2015: The Danish National Birth Cohort, established by the Danish National Research Foundation, published a study that included over 64,000 children and mothers. The researchers analyzed data and found that over 50% of children diagnosed with ASD and infantile autism were born to mothers who used acetaminophen during pregnancy.
- 2016: Spanish researchers completed a study that included 2,644 mother-child pairs, over 40% of which used acetaminophen during pregnancy. The study found that prenatal acetaminophen exposure was associated with a greater number of autism spectrum symptoms and complex developmental disorder in male offspring and showed adverse effects on attention-related outcomes for both genders.
Tylenol and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Along with the discovery of Paracetamol’s link to increased rates of autism, studies also found that the drug’s use during pregnancy also resulted in higher rates of ADHD diagnosis.
As these research ventures are completed over years, ADHD symptoms begin to appear as the child grows older:
- 2015: Using the Danish National Birth Cohort, UCLA and University of Aarhus researchers concluded a further link between Acetaminophen and ADHD.
- 2019: Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Office of Epidemiology and Research at the US Department of Health and Human Services published a study on 996 mother-infant pairs from the Boston Birth Cohort. They found that cord plasma biomarkers of fetal exposure to adult acetaminophen use and cord blood samples contained a significantly increased risk of ADHD and ASD.
Tylenol and Cerebral Palsy
Exposure to paracetamol and other painkillers in the womb may also lead to cerebral palsy, research shows:
- 2017: Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Cerebral Palsy Register of Norway, Aarhus University, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, among others, published a study linking paracetamol use during pregnancy to a higher risk of cerebral palsy children.
Tylenol and Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder
Both oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder are behavioral conditions exhibited in children.
The neurobehavioral impacts of Tylenol on a child during pregnancy have been found to result in disorders such as these:
- 2014: A long-term study from UCLA, University of Arizona, Novartis Farmaceutica SA (Barcelona), and the University of Aarhus concluded that acetaminophen use during pregnancy resulted in conduct problems and behavioral problems.
- 2018: Researchers from the Netherlands found links between higher rates of oppositional-defiant disorder symptoms and paracetamol use during pregnancy.
Tylenol is different from pain medications like Ibuprofen, Advil, and Aspirin, which are classified as Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs).
