Episode 229: Tylenol and Autism
After debriefing about the return of Jimmy Kimmel (1:15), in the second emergency podcast in as many weeks, Asif and Ali discuss President Trump’s recent press conference linking autism to Tylenol use.
Ali starts off by asking Asif about autism (8:27). Asif discusses what it is, how common it is, and the theories about why the prevalence of autism has been increasing over the past 2 decades. He then goes over the genetic causes of autism and the common questions he asks if he sees a patient who he suspects may have autism. Finally they discuss current treatments for autism.
The guys then go over what exactly Trump said in his press conference about Tylenol and autism (33:33), followed by Asif describing the studies which refute and support these claims. They also talk about the dangers of pregnant women not taking medications to treat fevers as well of the dangers of ibuprofen use in pregnancy. Finally, Ali asks Asif about the controversial link between autism and vaccines and disgraced physician Andrew Wakefield.
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Music courtesy of Wataboi and 8er41 from Pixabay
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Show Notes:
- Autism Canada: https://www.autismcanada.org/diagnosis
- Trump links autism to acetaminophen use during pregnancy, despite decades of evidence it’s safe: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/22/health/trump-autism-announcement-cause-tylenol
- Acetaminophen in Pregnancy and Attention-Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39637384/
- Evaluation of the evidence on acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders using the Navigation Guide methodology: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40804730/
- Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2817406
- Maternal Acetaminophen Use and Offspring's Neurodevelopmental Outcome: A Nationwide Birth Cohort Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ppe.70071
- ACOG Affirms Safety and Benefits of Acetaminophen during Pregnancy: https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2025/09/acog-affirms-safety-benefits-acetaminophen-pregnancy
- MotherToBaby | Fact Sheets: Ibuprofen: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK582759/
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