The president of the United States, Donald Trump, asked this Monday, September 22, to limit the use of paracetamol during pregnancy, attributing this drug to be a possible cause of autism.
“We strongly recommend that women limit the use of Tylenol (brand name acetaminophen) during pregnancy unless medically necessary,” Trump said during a White House press conference.
Trump warns on Tylenol use due to autism risk
Trump kicked off his speech by calling the autism situation in the United States a “horrible crisis” and said there is “no downside” to stopping the drug.
“We have evidence that we can’t ignore,” said Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director Martin Makary.
Makary in turn announced that warnings will be placed on the labels of Tylenol sold in pharmacies about its possible implications concerning autism.
For his part, Secretary of Health Robert Kennedy Jr. said that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had long focused “almost exclusively on politically safe and wholly unsuccessful research” on genetic factors in autism.
“That would be like studying genetic factors in lung cancer without looking at cigarettes,” he said.
During his speech, Trump said that there are “rumors” that in Cuba there is “virtually no autism” and, according to him, this is because to consume Tylenol you need money.
“There are other parts of the world that don’t have Tylenol and don’t have autism. That says a lot already,” the Republican added.
Kennedy said the FDA would issue a notice to physicians about the risk of acetaminophen during pregnancy and begin the process to make a safety change to the label.
Scientifically proven?
The vast majority of the scientific community denies that there is sufficient evidence to establish a link between acetaminophen and autism.
However, there are some studies that do point to this.
During Trump’s announcement, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a statement.
In that statement, they assert that acetaminophen is safe and that illnesses treated during pregnancy “are far more dangerous than any theoretical risk and can cause serious health problems,” wrote Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the organization.
For its part, the Autism Science Foundation denies that the existing evidence proves that this link exists.
In contrast, some studies did find a link.
One published in August by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai said that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen may increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
The announcement comes in the midst of a series of actions to take control of health agencies and establish changes in vaccination schedules.
With information from EFE
