A large sibling‑control study using a national register (~2.5 million births, 1995–2019) found no within‑family link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability. Between‑mother correlations vanish within families, indicating confounding drives prior associations. This directly contradicts HHS’s new warning to pregnant women to avoid Tylenol.
— It shows federal guidance can conflict with best‑available causal evidence, risking unnecessary fear and policy mistakes unless agencies adopt stronger evidentiary standards.
Theodore Dalrymple
2025.10.14
80% relevant
Dalrymple argues that a presidential warning against acetaminophen in pregnancy misreads association as causation and cites large cohort evidence (e.g., Swedish 2.5M‑child study with a tiny 1.33% vs 1.42% autism difference) to show the case is weak—aligning with the existing evidence from sibling‑control designs that find no causal Tylenol–autism link.
Jerusalem Demsas
2025.10.13
85% relevant
The episode centers on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claims linking acetaminophen in pregnancy to autism; this directly contrasts with the cited sibling‑control evidence finding no causal association, highlighting a policy–science clash.
Cremieux
2025.10.03
92% relevant
The article highlights a new national Japanese cohort using sibling comparisons and multiple robustness checks that finds no association between maternal acetaminophen use and autism/ADHD/ID, reinforcing the sibling‑study evidence base against a causal link.
2025.09.26
78% relevant
The YouGov poll, fielded after President Trump and HHS Secretary RFK Jr. urged pregnant women to avoid acetaminophen, finds 18% see high risk from acetaminophen and 48% say maternal medication use contributes to autism—with Republicans far more likely to agree. This contrasts with sibling‑control evidence that finds no causal link, highlighting a growing gap between policy/evidence and public belief.
Matthew Yglesias
2025.09.25
90% relevant
Yglesias explicitly cites sibling‑control designs finding no association between prenatal acetaminophen and autism, and criticizes HHS/Trump’s advisory to pregnant women—aligning with the idea that better causal designs rebut the Tylenol–autism claim and that current federal messaging conflicts with the evidence.
Cremieux
2025.09.24
90% relevant
The article argues the review discounted sibling‑control evidence (e.g., Gustavson 2021) while elevating weaker studies, aligning with the existing claim that within‑family designs show no causal link and contradict HHS guidance.
Cremieux
2025.09.23
100% relevant
HHS press conference claimed Tylenol in pregnancy causes autism and pushed CMS coverage for leucovorin; the article cites the sibling‑control register analysis showing no within‑family association.