Acetaminophen (Tylenol), also referred to as paracetamol, is an over-the-counter medication that is widely used to treat pain and fevers worldwide. However, in September 2025, the United States Government warned of a link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism. Now, a wide-ranging meta-analysis of high-quality studies has found no evidence that taking paracetamol as directed during pregnancy increases the risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in children. Experts from many countries agree that the findings should reassure pregnant individuals that, when used as directed, paracetamol is the safest painkiller for them to use during pregnancy. Acetaminophen, or paracetamol, commonly sold under the brand name Tylenol in the United States — is a medication used worldwide for the treatment of pain and fevers. In the United Kingdom alone, around 6,300 tons of paracetamol are sold each year, enough for 70 tablets per person annually. And in the U.S., the Consumer Healthcare Products Association reports that 52 million adults (23% of all adults) take a medication containing acetaminophen every week.
No surprise, then, that the US Government statement in September 2025 that children born to people who used acetaminophen in pregnancy had an increased risk of autism and similar conditions caused widespread concern. Now, an investigation by researchers in the U.K. and Europe, assessing a large number of studies, has found no evidence of a link between its use in pregnancy and autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or intellectual disability. The researchers state that their findings, published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s HealthTrusted Source, support existing recommendations on the safety of paracetamol. “From an obstetric standpoint, this is a reassuring and methodologically strong study which essentially addressed major limitations of earlier work: biases towards existing genetics, family environment, and the underlying reasons paracetamol is used — such as infection, fever, or pain,“ Anand Singh, MD, a consultant gynecologist and obstetrician at the Cadogan Clinic in London, U.K., who was not involved in this review, told Medical News Today. “The absence of an association between antenatal paracetamol exposure and autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or intellectual disability across these high-quality analyses strongly suggests that previously reported links were not causal. This aligns with what many clinicians have observed in practice and with the conclusions of large national registry studies.”
No single factor causes autism: Sylvia Baker, MRCpsych, a consultant psychiatrist specialized in autism and ADHD at Re: Cognition Health, who was likewise not involved in this review, emphasized that autism is a complex, multifactorial condition. According to Baker: “Autism is not caused by one single factor. The strongest evidence is for a significant genetic contribution, which is why autistic traits and neurodevelopmental conditions often run in families. Other factors linked with increased likelihood include certain genetic syndromes, prematurity, and some pregnancy or perinatal complications. In many cases there is no single identifiable cause. This paper is helpful because it reduces unnecessary anxiety for families and keeps the focus on what matters most clinically [in autism diagnosis]: Early recognition and appropriate support,” she concluded.