It all started with an unfounded warning that adoption Tylenol during pregnancy may increase a child's risk of developing autism. But the message from President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to have quickly expanded to suggest infants and young children avoid common painkillers.
“Don't give it to the baby once the baby is born,” Trump said of Tylenol at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Kennedy speculated that circumcised children have higher rates of autism, “probably because they are given Tylenol.”
As the administration's stance on the drug has expanded over the past few weeks, researchers say the idea that young children could develop autism as a result of taking Tylenol is especially far-fetched.
“There is even less evidence that there is a link between Tylenol in early childhood and autism than there is that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism,” said David Mundell, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania.
Most scientific evidence suggests that moderate use of Tylenol is safe during pregnancy, and many autism researchers say the evidence does not support a cause-and-effect link with autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics says Tylenol is safe when used in young children. taken correctly under the guidance of a pediatrician. The drug should not be given to children younger than 12 weeks unless recommended by a doctor because Tylenol may mask fever or early signs of sepsis that require immediate medical attention, the group said.
Trump and Kennedy's first statement on Tylenol and autism came on September 22, when they announced regulations to limit the drug's use during pregnancy. While Trump warned pregnant women to “fight like hell to get over this,” actual policy changes have been more muted. Food and Drug Administration published a letter asking doctors “Consider minimizing acetaminophen use during pregnancy when you have a common low-grade fever.” (Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol.)
However, the FDA has acknowledged that Tylenol is the safest over-the-counter pain reliever for pregnancy and that “a causal relationship has not been established” with autism.
The agency made no mention of risks to children. However, both Kennedy and Trump have repeatedly repeated similar warnings, which is a significant improvement over the FDA's messaging.
In a post on Truth Social two weeks ago, Trump wrote that small children should not take Tylenol “for almost any reason.”
Kennedy, meanwhile, strengthened his statement about circumcision in publish on X on Friday, stating that “the observed correlation with autism in circumcised boys is best explained by exposure to acetaminophen.”
Dr. Joshua Gordon, chairman of the department of psychiatry at Columbia University, said the growing warnings about Tylenol are a common tactic among those who want to attribute autism to vaccines or drugs.
“Robert F. Kennedy and his colleagues will start with one question, and when the scientific community answers that question, they will change it slightly to prolong, if you will, the debate on this topic,” Gordon said.
He pointed out how the anti-vaccination community first raised concerns about the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in relation to autism, and then focused on the mercury preservative in vaccines and the cumulative number of vaccines given in childhood. (Each of these concerns has been debunked.)
“No amount of scientific evidence can be convincing to this community,” Gordon said. “Debate is like a hydra. You cut off one head and they try to come out with the other.”
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said “the President is correct in expressing his common sense view that Americans should exercise caution with all medications and adhere to FDA recommendations, including long-standing recommendations regarding the appropriate use and dosage of acetaminophen in young children.”
A spokesman for Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, said the drug is “one of the most widely studied pain relievers and antipyretics in infants and children, and numerous randomized controlled clinical studies support the safety of acetaminophen in infants and children when used as directed.”
The spokesperson added that “independent, reliable science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism.”
Mundell said claims that Tylenol increases rates of autism in infants and toddlers are based on low-quality studies that do not prove cause and effect.
He pointed to a little research who found that young children with autism were significantly more likely to take acetaminophen for fever compared to children without the disorder. Mundell said the study had limitations: Parents had to remember how often they gave acetaminophen to their children, and children with autism are more prone to discomfort, which could lead their parents to give acetaminophen more often.
One scientist in particular, immunologist William Parker, has theorized that autism may be linked to acetaminophen use in infants and young children. In his post on X Kennedy quoted Parker's article it says there is “overwhelming evidence” that acetaminophen causes autism. But the article was not peer-reviewed and was not published in a scientific journal.
Kennedy also mentioned Danish study from 2015, which concluded that circumcised boys may be at greater risk of developing autism. But the study authors said they couldn't attribute the supposed effect to Tylenol.
Dr. Sian Jones-Jobst, a pediatrician and president of pediatrics at Complete Children's Health in Lincoln, Nebraska, says very few pediatricians use Tylenol for circumcision; instead, it is common practice to administer pain-relieving medication.
She added that in other situations, Tylenol is a useful treatment for reducing fever or pain.
“You should not allow your child to suffer if they are clearly uncomfortable,” Jones-Jobst said.
