Myth of Tylenol Induced Autism

     I’ve heard a lot of people talk about Tylenol during pregnancy and claim it causes autism, and honestly it always felt like one of those internet rumors that gets repeated so many times people start believing it. Once I actually looked into the research, I realized how misleading that claim really is. I read a study that looked at acetaminophen use during pregnancy and found associations with things like attention or behavior differences in kids, but the researchers were very clear that this did not show Tylenol causes autism (Ji et al., 2020). The study pointed out that there are tons of other factors involved, like genetics, environment, and even the health problems the parent was taking Tylenol for in the first place. It made me think about how easy it is to confuse “correlation” with “causation,” especially when people are already scared or looking for answers.

    Another study went even further and explained that autism has a strong genetic basis, meaning it is influenced much more by DNA than by things like occasional medication use during pregnancy (Ji et al., 2014). That made way more sense to me, especially since autism runs in families and shows patterns that medication exposure could never fully explain. What frustrates me is how these myths can make parents feel guilty for something that isn’t their fault. People forget that Tylenol is one of the most commonly used medications in the world, and if it actually caused autism, we would see massive, obvious patterns in every country. Learning more about the research made me feel relieved, but it also made me realize how important it is to look at real science instead of headlines or social media claims. Autism isn’t caused by a pain reliever. It’s a complex neurodevelopmental condition with deep genetic roots, and spreading misinformation only hurts families who deserve better explanations.

Ji, Y., Azuine, R. E., Zhang, Y., Hou, W., Ji, H., & Di Napoli, N. (2020). Association of cord plasma biomarkers of fetal acetaminophen exposure with risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(2), 180–189. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.3259