43. Tylenol: Separating Facts From Fake News!
In the US alone, around 500 million prescriptions are written for acetominophen every year. Add in all those packets sold over the counter and the number of people using acetominophen and its branded equivalents is truly mindblowing.
what are we going to do if it’s not as safe as we thought? Do we need to rethink our attitude towards what many people consider to be the most gentle of painkillers?
following his “I think we’ve found an answer to autism” statement of the previous day, President Trump’s September 22nd presidential press conferenc saw him repeatedly state “don’t take tylenol”, causing worry in pregnant women and their doctors everywhere.
As always, our duo wondered about the science connecting Tylenol, pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders and now they’re here to present their findings and thoughts for you :)
Episode Resources:
Here’s that original announcement from the FDA that seems to be responsible for President Trump’s concern about tylenol.
Here are the thoughts of the highly regarded, Yale School of Public Health,
Here’s an example of study that supported the hypothesis that acetaminophen usage during pregnancy is linked to a higher incidence of autism spectrum disorder in offspring.
And here’s that massive study that looked at over two million children and found no association between maternal acetaminophen use and the incidence of autism.
Want to take a deeper look at the meta-study of 46 research projects that suggested a link between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and increased likelihood of an autism or ADHD diagnosis, then click here.
Now, check out this large big meta study that did not find any association between in-pregnancy use of acetaminophen and the development of neurodivergent disorders.
For more on how our genetics influence whether we develop ADHD, this is an interesting read.
And finally, although the medical profession often don’t worry about a fever if we’re not pregnant, here are a couple of resources that show Why having a fever when pregnant needs to be taken seriously and potentially treated.
As always, get in touch and give us your feedback on our episodes as well as your suggestions for further conversations :)
