No, There Is No Proven Link Between Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) and Autism

In August 2025, Environmental Health published a systematic review examining whether exposure to paracetamol/acetaminophen during pregnancy might be associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Within hours, headlines and political figures—including Donald Trump—were distorting the study’s findings into claims of causation. This is not only misleading—it’s outright wrong.

What the Study Actually Found

The authors systematically reviewed 46 studies and found some associations (correlation) between prenatal paracetamol exposure and ASD outcomes. But they explicitly acknowledged:

That’s a scientific way of saying: we found a correlation, not proof. The authors themselves cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

The Problem With Correlation

This isn’t new. Epidemiology often uncovers correlations that can’t prove cause-and-effect. For example, every single child diagnosed with autism has a mother who drank water while pregnant. That’s a 100% correlation—but obviously absurd to interpret as proof that water causes autism.

The same principle applies here. The studies bundled into this review suffer from issues like:

• Retrospective recall bias (mothers asked to remember painkiller use years later).

• Uncontrolled confounders (genetics, environmental exposures, co-medications).

• Inconsistent methods (different diagnostic criteria, exposure definitions, and data quality across the 46 studies).

In short: shaky inputs yield shaky outputs. Even with those limitations, the authors still did not conclude there is a causal link.

Why the “Harvard Study” Label Is Wrong

Another misrepresentation is calling this a “Harvard study.” It isn’t. One of the researchers involved is affiliated with Harvard as an environmental health professor, but the study itself is a systematic review from a private medical institution, published in Environmental Health. Calling it a “Harvard study” is classic media shorthand designed to lend extra weight it doesn’t deserve.

The Bottom Line

• The study found a possible association, not proof.

• No causal mechanism has been identified.

• The authors themselves explicitly said further research is needed.

• Misreporting it as proof of a direct link is both scientifically inaccurate and socially harmful.

Pregnant women should always discuss any medication—including paracetamol—with their healthcare provider. But there is no scientific basis to claim paracetamol causes autism. To do so is as reckless as saying “drinking water causes autism.”

The study: https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-025-01208-0