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The Trump administration plans to publish a report this month which would link the use of common analgesic acetaminophen (sold under the Tylenol brand) during pregnancy, as well as certain vitamin deficiencies, to autistic spectrum disorder, despite the lack of scientific research to support such complaints.
It was only the last controversy surrounding the actions of the Secretary of Health and Social Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who repeated unleated affirmations on autism in the past, and promised to “arrive at the bottom” of his cause.
The agency confirmed that it was working on a report, but refused to comment on its conclusions. “Until we published the final report, any assertion on its content is nothing more than speculation,” said Rich Danker, spokesperson for HHS in a statement sent by email.
What does science say?
There is no credible scientific evidence that acetaminophen causes autism or that leucuvorine (a derivative of folic acid) can prevent disorder, as the HHS report will suggest allegedly, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal.
In fact, those of the medical community, including the Society for Matenal-Fetal Medicine, said in a press release that acetaminophen is safe and recommended for use during pregnancy, especially to treat fever and pain. “Untreated fever, in particular during the first trimester, increases the risk of miscarriage, congenital malformations and premature birth, and untreated pain can cause maternal depression, anxiety and high blood pressure,” said society in its declaration.
“It is dishonest and deceptive to boil the causes of autism to a simple thing,” said Dr. Alycia Halladay, director of sciences of the Autism Sciences Foundation, in a press release. There are hundreds of genes linked to autism, and although there are also other complex environmental factors, the foundation says that “any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on a limited, contradictory and inconsistent science and is premature given the current science”.
Some small studies have suggested an association between fetal exposure to acetaminophen and the later risk of diagnosis with autism spectrum disorder (TSA) and hyperactivity disorder deficit in attention (ADHD). But the biggest study to date, a collaboration funded by NIH between us and Swedish scientists, has found no increased risk.
Even before this study was published in 2024, an American district court had reached a similar conclusion in a case of responsibility for the products.
And the Folate?
Leucuvorine, also known as folinic acid, is a form of vitamin B9 (also known as Folat) which is used to treat certain types of vitamin B9 deficiency which are generally caused by chemotherapy against cancer. It is sometimes prescribed out of AMM as a treatment of autism, although the proof that it works is rare.
The use of leucuvorine is based on research suggesting that many autistic people have a metabolic difference that could reduce the amount of folate that reaches the brain. Leucuvorine seems to offer a way to get around this metabolic dam.
Folate is important for the development of the brain and the nervous system, which is why pregnant women are often prescribed supplements that contain folic acid, a synthetic version of the folate. Folate deficiency in a mother increases the risk of neuronal tube malformations, including Spina Bifida, but the link with autism is not clear.
The foundation of autism sciences said in its declaration that there are four studies suggesting that low folate levels in pregnant women could increase the risk of autism, but it has declared that “this science is still at very early stages, and other studies are necessary before a final conclusion can be reached”.
