One of Australia's peak medical bodies has labelled an announcement by the Trump administration linking autism with paracetamol as "dangerous".
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US President Donald Trump suggested that the use of the popular medicine, known as Tylenol in the United States, during pregnancy may contribute to rising autism rates in his country, a link experts say is unproven.
Speaking from the White House on September 22, Trump said women should not take the medicine "during the entire pregnancy", but the White House did not provide any medical evidence for the new recommendation.
At a memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk on September 21, Mr Trump boasted the announcement could be the "biggest" medically in the history of the country.
"I think we found an answer to autism," he said. "How about that? Autism."
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said he would look "closely" at the US announcement.
"Paracetamol is not obviously just a pain-killing medication; it's obviously an important treatment for fever, which can also be dangerous if untreated while you're pregnant," he said.
"We would caution any pregnant woman, taking action in response to media reports like this, without taking some medical advice first."
In Australia, paracetamol is listed as safe to help with mild to moderate pain during pregnancy.
The Australian regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), said in a statement that paracetamol remained Pregnancy Category A in Australia, "meaning that it was considered safe for use in pregnancy".
Health experts urge caution
Australian Medical Association NSW president, Dr Kathryn Austin, described any such announcement as "incredibly dangerous".
"It is medically inaccurate, it effectively spreads health disinformation at a time when people are incredibly concerned about the impact of their health and would do anything to prevent their child from having autism," she said.
Dr Austin said it was known that autism isn't caused by common medications like Panadol.
Autism has an incredibly complex causal pathway for which we don't have the sort of perfect understanding yet.
- Dr Kathryn Austin
She urged pregnant women to consult their medical professionals if they have any concerns or call the free medical hotline MotherSafe.
Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health at Monash University, Dr Hannah Kirk, told ACM there was "no known single cause" to autism.
However, Dr Kirk said research showed that genetics plays a large role, with hundreds of genes linked to autism.
She said no study has shown that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, causes autism.
"Some studies have reported an association between acetaminophen use and autism, while others have not," she said.
Importantly, association does not mean causation.
"A recent large-scale study, which analysed data from 2.48 million births, found that when researchers compared siblings (a method to control for genetic and environmental factors), any apparent links between acetaminophen and autism disappeared.
"This suggests that other factors, such as genetic or underlying maternal health conditions, may better explain the findings."
Diagnoses increase
Autism diagnoses in the United States have increased significantly since 2000, intensifying public concern.
By 2020, the US autism rate in eight-year-olds was one in 36, or 2.77 per cent, up from 2.27 per cent in 2018 and 0.66 per cent in 2000, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has said America is in the grip of an "autism epidemic".
with AAP
Carla Mascarenhas
Carla Mascarenhas is a journalist with Explore Travel and The Senior. She specialises in deep issues affecting Gen X and beyond, and the latest in travel news. Contact her on carla.mascarenhas@austcommunitymedia.com.au
