Study reaffirms absence of link between paracetamol consumption during pregnancy and autism.

Nothing allows us to establish a link between paracetamol consumption during pregnancy and the emergence of autism spectrum disorders in children, concluded a large study published this Monday, the 10th, in the British journal BMJ .

The publication refutes the claim made by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who asserted a link between paracetamol and autism, without presenting any scientific evidence.

"The data currently available are insufficient to confirm a link between exposure to paracetamol in utero and autism, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during childhood," the study concluded.

The scientific community denounced Trump's claims , in which he urged pregnant women not to take paracetamol.

The medication, also known by the brand names Panadol or Tylenol, is the analgesic of choice for pregnant women, unlike aspirin or ibuprofen, which have proven risks to the fetus.

Following Trump's statements, the World Health Organization (WHO) insisted that there was no proven link between the drug and autism.

The study published this Monday reinforces the consensus.

The BMJ article is not based on new research, but it offers the most complete and accurate overview to date of the state of knowledge on the subject.

This is an "umbrella review," a work that compiles other studies that, in turn, have attempted to take stock of the knowledge on this topic.

Several studies have suggested a possible link between paracetamol and autism, but their quality is “low” or “extremely low,” according to the authors of the study published in the BMJ . Most of the time, they do not take sufficient precautions to rule out other factors, such as genetic predispositions or maternal health problems.

These studies, therefore, do not offer much clue about the true mechanisms of cause and effect. They do not allow us to distinguish what comes directly from the use of paracetamol and, for example, from the pathologies that led the expectant mother to take treatment for fever or pain.

The observations refer, in particular, to a study published in 2025 in the journal Environmental Health and frequently cited by the Trump administration .

The study found a correlation between maternal paracetamol use and autism spectrum disorders in children, but at the same time warned that it was not possible to conclude that there was a cause-and-effect mechanism.

Several experts praised the BMJ study. "It's based on a high-quality methodology that confirms what experts around the world have been repeating," commented Dimitrios Sassiakos, Professor of Obstetrics at University College London, in a statement to the UK Science Media Centre.