Comment on: “Maternal Paracetamol (Acetaminophen) Use During Pregnancy and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Offspring: Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews”
Abstract
Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is frequently used during pregnancy to treat pain and fever. Recently, public concern increased after claims by the US president that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen may increase the risk of autism in children. While regulatory agencies and professional organizations have reaffirmed the safety of paracetamol use during pregnancy, systematic reviews of observational studies on this topic vary in their methods, control for confounding, and findings. As a result, the strength and validity of the evidence remain uncertain. This study aims to evaluate the quality of existing evidence and the reported associations between prenatal paracetamol exposure and risks of autism and ADHD in children.
This umbrella review conducted searches of Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Epistemonikos, and gray literature through September 2025 to identify systematic reviews and meta-analyses evaluating maternal paracetamol use during pregnancy and risks of autism spectrum disorder or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in offspring. Independent reviewers screened studies and assessed full texts for eligibility. Systematic reviews were included if they evaluated randomized trials or observational studies examining prenatal paracetamol exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. The AMSTAR 2 tool was used to assess the methodological quality of each review. Data on study characteristics, exposure definitions, outcomes,…
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