News reports have indicated Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may point to Tylenol and folate deficiency in his promised announcement on the causes of autism. But neither Tylenol nor folate deficiency has been shown to cause autism. Some evidence has pointed away from Tylenol as a risk factor.
“By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures,” Kennedy said in an April 10 Cabinet meeting. In an Aug. 26 Cabinet meeting, Kennedy said that the administration will “have announcements, as promised, in September. We’re finding interventions, certain interventions now, that are clearly, almost certainly causing autism.”
On Sept. 5, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kennedy would suggest a connection between autism and use of Tylenol, or acetaminophen, during pregnancy, based on conversations about an expected HHS autism report with “people familiar with the matter.” As we will discuss below, Tylenol hasn’t been shown to cause autism, and some experts told us that the best current evidence points away from this conclusion. Failing to treat fever and pain in pregnancy can be dangerous for the mother and infant.
Others had previously speculated on a role for Tylenol in the autism report.