Donald Trump has claimed there is a link between paracetamol use during pregnancy and increased autism risk, despite experts in the field stating it remains unproven even after extensive research.
Speaking at the White House, the United States President – joining controversial health secretary Robert F. Kennedy jnr on stage – described current autism numbers as a “horrible, horrible crisis”.
He claimed pregnant women should not be taking paracetamol (known as Tylenol in the US) during pregnancy, citing the unproven link as a major factor in the rise of autism diagnoses.
However, advice from New Zealand medical and autism professionals has emphasised the connection as baseless.
Medsafe told the Herald there is no proven link between paracetamol and autism, Autism NZ’s chief executive labelled the rhetoric “quite scary”, and an obstetrician called the claim “really, really damaging”.
Dr Deralie Flower, an obstetrician and president of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists’ Auckland branch, said it was disturbing “when people who are not experts in that field put out statements like that”.
“People should talk to their midwife or their obstetrician before taking any health advice from President Trump.”
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that impacts an individual’s cognitive, sensory and social processing – essentially, the way they see the world.
About 159,000 Kiwis are estimated to have the condition, or about 3% of the population.
Medical professionals have long cited paracetamol as among the safest painkillers to take during pregnancy, especially as fever and pain can also pose dangers to both the mother and the developing fetus.
But Trump insisted that “taking Tylenol is not good”.
“They are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary. That’s for instance, in cases of extremely high fever that you feel you can’t tough it out,” he said.
“If you can’t tough it out, if you can’t do it, that’s what you’re gonna have to do. You’ll take a Tylenol, but it’ll be very sparingly ... I think you shouldn’t take it.”
The Ministry of Health supplied the Herald with Medsafe’s official data sheet for paracetamol in New Zealand, outlining the pharmacology, dosage, potential risks, adverse effects and recommended use during pregnancy and lactation.
There is no link to autism mentioned within this data sheet.
Trump also alleged a link between vaccines and autism, falsely claiming babies are “loaded up” with dozens of vaccines in accordance with medical advice.
“They pump so much stuff into babies, it’s a disgrace.”
Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccinologist and co-director of the Global Vaccine Data Network, told Newstalk ZB the Trump administration’s declaration is a “load of nonsense”.
“The claim that there’s an epidemic of autism is actually not true,” she said.
“And the elephant in the room that they keep avoiding is the fact that, over time, the way that autism and the autism spectrum is defined has changed, and the increase in awareness has resulted in a lot more people being diagnosed.
“Second of all, any potential association between vaccine has been almost studied to death. There is absolutely no scientific evidence to support that one. And to be honest, there never has been.
“It’s as simple as that, really.”
Dr Joan Ingram, a medical advisor at the Immunisation Advisory Centre, said the evidence failed to suggest any link between vaccines and autism.
“This concern started when Andrew Wakefield, a British doctor, published a study in 1998 that linked the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism.
“The paper was retracted, and he was barred from practicing medicine in Britain.
”Independent scientists have conducted more than 40 high-quality studies since 1998 involving over 5.6 million people across seven countries – all found no connection between vaccines and autism."
Health NZ’s official advice on vaccine safety states that immunisation is “the most effective health intervention in the world for saving lives” after clean water access.
“As well as reducing the risk of getting really sick, there are many other benefits to immunisation.
“It’s normal to feel cautious, especially when you’re making a decision about the health of your tamariki, but the benefits to your child of getting vaccinated are much greater than the risks that come with getting the disease if they’re not.”
A literature review published last month concluded there was reason to believe a possible link between Tylenol exposure and autism existed – but other studies have found an opposite result.
Researchers behind the August report cautioned that more study is needed and that pregnant women should not stop taking medication without consulting their doctors.
David Mandell, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told AFP that research suggests the possible risks posed by taking Tylenol while pregnant seem “to be lower than the risk of having an uncontrolled infection during pregnancy”.
The professor of psychiatry also emphasised that digging into the interaction of genetic and environmental factors is an area of critical research.
However, to take on those studies with rigour demands decades of study and funding.
Mandell cast the Trump administration’s efforts as rushed.
The NZ Ministry of Health’s advice on the use of paracetamol in pregnancy has not changed, identifying the drug as the safest medicine to take in pregnancy if you require pain relief or treatment for fever.
The safety of all medicines continues to be monitored in NZ by Medsafe, including monitoring emerging information about the safety and effectiveness of the products overseas.
Medsafe encourages anyone with concerns about any medicine to speak with trusted healthcare providers.
Autism NZ’s chief executive Dane Dougan said the Trump administration’s efforts to find a definitive cause for autism has proven “quite scary”, given the lack of support from current scientific research.
“To try to stop people being born as autistic, I think, is a very negative way of looking at it and quite harmful,” he told the Herald.
“What we know is there is no single cause for autism ... it’s incredibly complex and cannot be boiled down to one cause either.
“And I think trying to do that is just simplifying a pretty complex issue.”
He refuted the administration’s claim that autism had been linked to paracetamol use during pregnancy.
“There is no scientific evidence to show this is the case. While there has been ... a small number of studies about the association between autism and paracetamol, there has not been even a casual link shown to that yet.”
As an organisation, Autism NZ doesn’t look for causes or cures but actively supports autistic Kiwis so they can “live the best life they can possibly live”, Dougan said.
Diagnoses have been ticking upwards over the past 20 years.
However, these have largely come down to increasing autism awareness and the changing of the criteria for autism diagnosis.
“There are more people being diagnosed as our understanding of autism has changed and evolved over the years,” Dougan said.
“We’ve changed our criteria with it, which I think is a positive thing ... it’s important for people to have that self-awareness and understanding of who they are.”
Growing awareness of the genetic factors that contribute to autism risk will also be driving more people to be screened, so attempting “to link it to one particular cause is just not realistic at this point in time”, he added.
- Additional reporting by AFP