09/23/2025
There continues to be news headlines about the government's stance on Tylenol and autism, as the President suggests that Tylenol causes a risk for developing autism.
This stance is disappointing, especially since the research methodology is not being explained. Instead, the article that is referenced is being overly simplified, causing confusion and overreactions.
I read the cited article. This study used "navigational guide methodology," which is a fancy term for synthesizing articles. The authors did not conduct new research. Some of the articles reviewed found correlations between maternal Tylenol use and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). However, neither this article nor the articles reviewed accounted for latent variables like genetics (there are many genetic factors related to mental health disorders) or other medications the pregnant mothers may have taken, as well as many other environmental factors.
They simply found a correlation between Tylenol use and NDD.
This report should not be surprising, as many pregnant women take Tylenol when needed (e.g., fever reduction), and many children are diagnosed with NDD. This research did not determine, and based on the methodology, could not determine, that Tylenol causes NDDs.
Additionally, increases in NDD diagnoses do not necessarily mean rates have exponentially increased in recent years because NDDs did not exist in the past. It is plausible that NDDs were less understood, and now the mental health profession has a better understanding and new ways to assess.
The article in question provides information that should be used to inform future research. It should not be taken out of context and used to weaponize the medical field, or to create false claims about the cause of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
