Trump administration to link Tylenol use to risk of autism

President Donald Trump plans to announce Monday that the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy could increase the risk of autism. He will advise pregnant women to use only acetaminophen, or generic acetaminophen, to treat high fevers, according to two senior administration officials.

These officials, who requested anonymity to share details of the announcement in advance, said Trump will also present leucovorin, a cancer and anemia drug, as a potential treatment for people with autism.

On Friday, Trump announced he would soon make a major announcement regarding the neurological condition. “Autism is totally out of control,” he told reporters. “I believe we may have a cause for this.”

In a statement Sunday, White House press secretary Kush Desai said the announcement would “mark a historic step forward” in the fight against the rise in autism.

Determining the cause of this condition is a top priority for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who promised earlier this year to provide answers by September. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this spring that one in 31 American children aged 8 had been diagnosed with acetaminophen in 2022, compared to one in 150 in 2000. This announcement marks the first time the government has linked acetaminophen to autism.

Kennedy believes environmental factors are behind the rise in autism cases. Despite widespread evidence to the contrary, he suspects vaccines may be involved. Many public health experts believe this is due to evolving diagnostic criteria and increased attention to the condition.

Autism presents in a wide variety of ways, with some presenting with severe symptoms and others with mild ones. It can affect social communication, cause repetitive behaviors and impact language development.

Acetaminophen, along with generic acetaminophen, is the most commonly used pain reliever and fever reducer for pregnant women. They are already advised against using generic Advil or ibuprofen due to the risk of miscarriage and birth defects.

A senior administration official said Kennedy and other senior officials from government health agencies are expected to participate in the announcement, adding that officials are divided on how to approach the autism issue and that Kennedy, while convinced of a link between acetaminophen use by pregnant women and autism, has been reluctant to alert the public.

The administration is still preparing a broader autism initiative: a dozen working groups are expected to examine some 30 hypotheses about possible causes. The literature review intended to support this work is not complete and will not be released Monday.

When Kennedy claimed he would have answers about the cause of autism by September, researchers working on the condition dismissed this claim as unrealistic. By the summer, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which Kennedy had commissioned to conduct the research, had already delayed its projections, announcing that new grants would be awarded and work would begin in September, with the possibility of updating them next year.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to link autism to acetaminophen use during pregnancy, as well as folic acid (vitamin B1) deficiency in some women. It also indicated that HHS may recommend leucovorin as a treatment in some cases.

Specifically, the NIH indicated that the administration plans to publish these claims in an unspecified “report.” However, according to an official interviewed by Politico, no such report currently exists.

Last month, a review of the research published in the journal BMC Environmental Health, co-authored by Dr. Andrea Baccarelli, dean of the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, established a link between acetaminophen and autism and recommended taking “appropriate and immediate action to advise pregnant women to limit their acetaminophen intake to protect their infant’s neurodevelopment.”

However, the study did not prohibit its use by women except in cases of fever. It stated: “We recommend prudent use of acetaminophen—at the lowest effective dose, for the shortest possible duration—under medical supervision, tailored to individual risk-benefit assessments, rather than imposing blanket restrictions.”

Last week, Kirk Perry, interim CEO of Kenevo, maker of Tylenol, privately urged Kennedy not to mention Tylenol as a cause, according to the Wall Street Journal. Kenevo, spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, lists Tylenol among its top brands.

In a statement, a company spokesperson told Politico that it categorically rejects any suggestion of a link between Tylenol and autism and said that discouraging women from using Tylenol would force them to make “dangerous choices” between enduring potentially harmful pain for themselves and their babies and taking more dangerous painkillers.

“The fact is, more than a decade of rigorous research, endorsed by leading medical professionals and international health regulators, confirms the absence of reliable evidence linking acetaminophen to autism,” the spokesperson said. “We support and agree with the many public health and medical professionals who have reviewed this scientific data. We will continue to explore all options to protect the health of American women and children.”

Major medical groups still recommend the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states there is “no clear evidence” that cautious use of acetaminophen can cause fetal developmental problems and warns against untreated maternal fever or pain.

Studies on acetaminophen use and autism have relied on observational data—demonstrating an association but not a definitive causal link—or have concluded that there is no link.