On Sept. 22, Donald Trump pushed an unproven link between Tylenol and an increase in autism in children, and he issued an urgent warning to expectant mothers not to take the medication.
What do we know about the drug? Tylenol is used to treat a several conditions, such as mild to moderate pain, fever, headaches, muscle aches, toothaches, backaches and colds. According to medical experts, when taken as directed, traditional over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs) can be safe and effective.
Tylenol wasn’t widely used until 1950, when Tylenol Elixir for Children, a prescription medication at first, was promoted as an aspirin substitute, according to Tufts University School of Medicine. Acetaminophen, often sold under the brand name Tylenol, had long been considered the safest option for managing headaches, fever and other pain during pregnancy.
It’s as proven as a lot of epidemiology. The White House referenced a paper talking about acetaminophen and pregnancy, it was a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. That’s not very rigorous. However, it’s the same level of rigor used to demonize red meat consumption.
So you’re either in the camp that epidemiology is not serious science, and should not be used for public policy. Which is fine, that’s a reasonable place to be
Or you’re in the camp that some epidemiology should be used for public policy, which then this acetaminophen link should be taken seriously.
I’m personally not compelled by weak epidemiology, so I don’t think any of it should be used for public policy. And especially politicians shouldn’t get in the business of pumping epidemiology.
However, this USA today article does not disprove anything. It can’t. You can’t prove the negative. Is acetaminophen safe at all Dose levels during pregnancy? I don’t know, it should be minimized unless it’s necessary, but I don’t know the dose dependent response. That would require an interventional trial. It would be reasonable to not take any drugs during pregnancy unless they’re absolutely medically necessary, and not use simply as a panacea which acetaminophen is often used as
I do find it odd that The article uses the fact that acetaminophen is very popular so it’s safe. Otherwise, we’d be seeing a widespread problem, but that’s exactly what the acetaminophen research paper was saying… They’re kind of arguing against that premise