A new study investigates the possible link between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorders in children.

Nothing, based on current scientific evidence, supports an association between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and the development of autism spectrum disorders in children, according to the conclusion of a major study published in the British scientific journal BMJ.

“The currently available data do not confirm that there is a link between fetal exposure to paracetamol and the appearance of autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood,” the study concluded.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested in recent weeks that there is a connection between paracetamol and autism. In September, he even called on pregnant women to avoid using paracetamol.

The scientific community rejected these claims, reminding that the medical consensus does not support such a link and emphasizing that paracetamol is, on the contrary, the painkiller that pregnant women should prefer over aspirin or ibuprofen, since those have been proven to pose risks to the fetus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) insisted, immediately after Trump’s statements, that there is no evidence indicating that the use of paracetamol is linked to autism.

The study published in the British medical journal BMJ reinforces this consensus. Although it is not based on new research, it provides the most comprehensive and accurate overview to date of the current state of scientific evidence. It is an “umbrella review,” compiling and synthesizing the results of other studies.

Some studies have suggested that there might be a connection between paracetamol and autism or ADHD. However, their quality is “low” or “very low,” according to the authors of the BMJ study, and in most cases they did not take sufficient precautions to exclude the influence of other factors, such as genetic predisposition or the mother’s health problems.

These criticisms focus particularly on one study published in 2025 in the journal Environmental Health, which is frequently cited by the Trump administration. That study claimed that the use of paracetamol during pregnancy may be linked to the development of autism, but it did not prove such an association.

Many experts praised the BMJ study. “It is based on high-quality methodology that confirms what experts around the world are saying,” commented Dimitrios Sassiakos, Professor of Obstetrics at University College London, speaking to the British Science Media Centre.

Beyond paracetamol, Trump and U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. regularly make other unfounded claims about autism — either asserting that there is an “epidemic” in the United States or suggesting that it is linked to certain childhood vaccines.