UK health officials address Trump announcing paracetamol in pregnancy causes autism

Donald Trump made a controversial announcement in the Oval Office on Monday (22 September).

Alongside health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., the US president claimed that paracetamol, the main ingredient in Tylenol, 'is no good' and that pregnant women should avoid it.

“I’ll say it. It’s not good. For this reason [the FDA] are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary,” he insisted.

The 79-year-old also claimed that one in 12 boys are now diagnosed with autism, adding that it's 'among the most alarming public health developments in history'.

Whereas the National Institutes of Health recently stated that the figure amongst children is '1 in 31 today'.

In a statement shared by the White House, Dean Andrea appeared to have contradicted Trump's comments, noting that 'further research is needed to confirm the association and determine causality'.

Donald Trump's claims have been strongly refuted by health organisations (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has since stated that 'there is no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children'.

They recommended pregnant women to follow NHS guidelines: "Paracetamol is the first choice of painkiller if you’re pregnant. It’s commonly taken during pregnancy and does not harm your baby."

Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the MHRA, added: “Paracetamol remains the recommended pain relief option for pregnant women when used as directed.

The NHS states that the painkiller 'does not harm your baby' (Getty Stock Images)

“Pregnant women should continue to follow existing NHS guidance and speak to their healthcare professional if they have questions about any medication during pregnancy.

“Untreated pain and fever can pose risks to the unborn baby.

“So it is important to manage these symptoms with the recommended treatment.”

Tylenol maker Kenvue also told the BBC that they 'strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers'.

Dr Monique Botha, who studies bias in autism research at the University of Durham, said to Sky News that Trump's link is likely to anger parents with autistic children.

For the UK, an estimate of the amount of paracetamol sold is just under 6,300 tonnes a year (Getty Stock Images)

"Families with autistic children are often struggling with under-resourced care and someone standing up and declaring that they've potentially found the cause of autism - when it's so misguided - isn't going to change anything for them," Dr Botha said.

Dr Viktor Ahlqvist, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, investigated this link after leading a study of 2.5 million children in Sweden.

Their results concluded that there was no evidence of harm.

"We've seen this many, many times, going back to the scary stories of the 1960s, that the blame is usually on the mother and parents where a child has a condition," said Dr Ahlqvist.

"With this current [US] administration, they're again pointing the finger at mothers, when we have no substantial evidence to suggest that this is the case."