Trump’s Directive On Tylenol Could Do More Harm Than Good, May Raise Autism Rates, Experts Warn

US President Donald Trump on Monday linked autism to childhood vaccines and consumption of popular pain medication, Tylenol, during pregnancy. He announced a federal push to investigate Tylenol or acetaminophen's alleged role in autism. This prompted the FDA to announce it would issue a new warning label on the painkiller, citing a “possible association.”

Trump's claims sparked backlash from scientists, who warned the directive could do more harm than good. Experts also condemned the move, calling it a distraction from real science.

David Amaral, research director at the UC Davis MIND Institute, was among those who criticised Trump's warning to pregnant women to avoid Tylenol.

“We heard the President say women should tough it out,” Amaral was quoted as saying by Wired.

“I was really taken aback by that, because we do know that prolonged fever, in particular, is a risk factor for autism. So I worry that this admonition to not take Tylenol is going to do the reverse of what they're hoping for,” he added.

According to the Wired report, the speculation about Tylenol's link to autism stems from studies suggesting a correlation between the drug and neurodevelopmental disorders. But many of these studies are flawed, said Renee Gardner, an epidemiologist at Sweden's Karolinska Institute.

“They often fail to account for confounding factors,” she explained, citing variables like underlying illness or maternal stress. These could skew results and falsely suggest a direct connection where none may exist.

Gardner notes that women who take Tylenol during pregnancy often do so due to pain, fever, or infection, which themselves are known autism risk factors. Factors like genetic traits linked to immune issues and pain sensitivity, which may increase Tylenol use, are also tied to autism. “The medication,” according to her, is a “red herring.”

Last year, Gardner and her colleagues published one of the most comprehensive studies on Tylenol and autism. They used data from nearly 2.5 million Swedish children. After adjusting for confounding factors, they found no link. A separate study from Japan, released earlier this month and involving over 2,00,000 children, reached the same conclusion. This marks a contradiction from Trump's claims entirely.

Doctors fear Trump's claims could push pregnant women toward riskier medications. Michael Absoud, a pediatric neurodisability expert at King's College London, warned that alternatives to Tylenol may carry unknown dangers.

Gardner told Wired further that the rhetoric may revive outdated, harmful narratives. These include blaming parents for their children's autism.