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UPDATE:
President Donald Trump and his administration officially suggested that Tylenol during pregnancy can contribute to a higher autism risk during a press conference on Monday (September 22).
Trump said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will be notifying doctors that use of the medicine "can be associated" with an increased risk of autism, however, didn't offer medical evidence for the new FDA recommendation, the Associated Press reports. The president said the FDA would strongly advise pregnant women not to take Tylenol unless it was "medically necessary," adding, “Ideally you don’t take it at all.”
Tylenol has, however, long been recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as a safe medication for pain relief during pregnancy.
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President Donald Trump and his administration are reportedly set to announce the link between using Tylenol while pregnant potentially raising the risk of autism, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the New York Post.
The Trump administration will reportedly begin advising pregnant women to avoid the use of over-the-counter pain medication with the exception of high fevers, sources confirmed. Efforts to explore the use of leucovorin, which is commonly used to treat cancer and anemia, to treat those with autism are also reportedly being explored.
Trump has publicly teased a breakthrough announcement from his health department in recent days, which included mentioning Monday's (September 22) scheduled press conference during his speech at conservative political activist Charlie Kirk's memorial service on Sunday (September 21).
“I think we found an answer to autism,” he said. “I think it’s going to be one of the most important news conferences I’ll ever have, and I look so forward to it.”
Autism is reported to affect 1 in 31 8-year-olds in the United States, according to the latest U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tabulated in 2022. The reported announcement will mark the first time that the U.S. government has ever linked acetaminophen as a possible link to potentially raising the risk of autism.
Multiple studies conducted by Dr. Richard Frye, a pediatric neurologist from Arizona, during the past 13 years reportedly showed that Leucovorin could improve signs of autism, even leading to nonverbal children speaking for the first time. Frye told the New York Post that his findings were not only valuable in the treatment of autism, but also in potentially preventing the disorder altogether.
Autism spectrum disorder includes a broad range of conditions that impact how people learn, behave, communicate and interact with others, with diagnoses seeing a significant increase among American children in recent years. The CDC reports that 1 in 36 U.S. children are on the spectrum and cases were reported to have increased by 175% between 2011 and 2022, according to MedicalXPress.com.