Trust Doctors Over Trump On Paracetamol, Streeting Says

Pregnant women should disregard Donald Trump's claims that taking paracetamol could lead to their kid having autism, nan UK's wellness caput has said.

"I spot doctors complete President Trump," Wes Streeting told ITV's Lorraine programme, adding that expectant mothers should not salary "any attraction whatsoever" to nan US president's unfounded claims.

It comes aft Trump said that nan symptom reliever Tylenol, known arsenic paracetamol successful nan UK, "is nary good" for pregnant women to use, citing a disputed nexus betwixt nan supplier and autism.

Medical experts person powerfully pushed back, and wellness officials successful nan UK person stressed that paracetamol remains nan safest painkiller disposable to pregnant women.

On its website, nan NHS says it is "the first prime of painkiller if you're pregnant. It's commonly taken during gestation and does not harm your baby."

Aspirin and ibuprofen are not usually recommended because these narcotics tin impact nan baby's circulation. Untreated fever successful gestation tin besides beryllium perchance harmful successful pregnancy.

On Monday, Trump announced that doctors successful nan US would beryllium advised not to prescribe Tylenol to pregnant women, who, he said, should "fight for illustration hellhole not to return it".

However, connected Tuesday morning, Streeting said: "I've conscionable sewage to beryllium really clear astir this: location is nary grounds to nexus nan usage of paracetamol by pregnant women to autism successful their children. None."

He cited a awesome Swedish study past year involving 2.4 cardinal children, which recovered nary nexus betwixt nan supplier and autism.

"Don't salary immoderate attraction whatsoever to what Donald Trump says astir medicine," Streeting said, urging group to alternatively perceive to British doctors, scientists and nan NHS.

Health authorities were speedy to denounce Trump's claims.

The UK's National Autistic Society, which represents autistic group and their families, criticised him for spreading misinformation and "fearmongering".

"This is dangerous, it's anti-science and it's irresponsible," said nan organisation's Mel Merritt in a powerfully worded statement.

The Trump management is "peddling nan worst myths" and "undermining decades of investigation by respected experts successful nan field", she added.

Trump's announcement follows a reappraisal of research successful August, led by nan dean of Harvard University's Chan School of Public Health, which recovered that children whitethorn beryllium much apt to create autism and different neurodevelopmental disorders erstwhile exposed to Tylenol during pregnancy.

The squad analysed 46 studies, of which 27 reported a nexus betwixt nan usage of acetaminophen, nan progressive constituent successful nan painkiller, and an accrued consequence of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and ADHD.

• What is autism and is location a nexus to Tylenol?
• The familial enigma of why immoderate group create autism

The authors said that much investigation was needed to corroborate nan findings, but recommended immoderate steps should beryllium taken to limit usage of nan drug. They besides recognised that it was still important for treating maternal fever and pain.

Another study conducted successful Japan earlier this twelvemonth recovered a mini accrued consequence of autism linked to acetaminophen. But it said "misclassification and different biases whitethorn partially explicate these associations".

But nan Swedish study past twelvemonth recovered nary grounds to support a casual nexus betwixt autism and acetaminophen.

The wide held position of researchers is that location is nary azygous origin of autism, which is thought to beryllium nan consequence of a analyzable operation of familial and biology factors.

In a connection to nan BBC, Tylenol shaper Kenvue said nan subject intelligibly shows that taking acetaminophen does not origin autism.

"We powerfully disagree pinch immoderate proposal different and are profoundly concerned pinch nan wellness consequence this poses for expecting mothers."

Monique Botha, a professor successful societal and developmental psychology astatine Durham University, said nan "fearmongering" could extremity women from seeking due attraction during their pregnancy.

"There is nary robust grounds aliases convincing studies to propose location is immoderate causal relationship," nan professor said, adding that paracetamol is simply a "a overmuch safer symptom alleviation action during gestation than fundamentally immoderate different alternative".

Echoing this, Professor Claire Anderson, president of nan Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said that nan supplier has been "used safely by millions of group for decades, including during pregnancy".

In nan US, nan president of nan American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists disputed nan nexus made by Trump, and said location is "no clear grounds that proves a nonstop relationship" betwixt nan usage of acetaminophen and foetal developmental issues.

Dr Steven Fleischman said nan declare "dangerously simplifies nan galore and analyzable causes of neurologic challenges successful children".

In a announcement to doctors, nan US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said professionals should see limiting nan usage of Tylenol, while besides taking into relationship that it is nan safest over-the-counter action to dainty fever and symptom successful pregnant women, which tin besides harm maternal and foetal health.

"To beryllium clear, while an relation betwixt acetaminophen and autism has been described successful galore studies, a causal narration has not been established and location are contrary studies successful nan technological literature," nan FDA wrote.

Speaking alongside Trump, US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said nan FDA would besides statesman nan process of initiating a information explanation alteration connected nan medicine and motorboat a nationalist wellness run to dispersed awareness.

In nan past, Kennedy has offered debunked theories astir nan rising rates of autism, blaming vaccines contempt a deficiency of evidence.

Trump has besides promoted unsubstantiated aesculapian claims, including during nan Covid-19 pandemic.