UK health officials push back on US president's claim paracetamol is linked to autism

UK wellness experts and officials person pushed backmost connected Donald Trump's assertion that paracetamol is linked to autism, saying determination is "no evidence" for it.

The US president said connected Monday that determination had been a "meteoric rise" successful cases of autism and suggested that the usage of Tylenol - an American-branded mentation of paracetamol - during gestation is simply a imaginable cause.

His claims person been wide corrected by officials, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who said that "I spot doctors implicit President Trump, frankly, connected this".

Read more: What is autism?

Speaking connected ITV's Lorraine, Mr Streeting said: "I've conscionable got to beryllium truly wide astir this: determination is nary grounds to nexus the usage of paracetamol by large women to autism successful their children. None."

The health secretary past referenced a large survey successful Sweden past twelvemonth that progressive 2.4 cardinal children, adding it "did not uphold those claims".

He added: "I would conscionable accidental to radical watching, don't wage immoderate attraction whatsoever to what Donald Trump says astir medicine.

"In fact, don't instrumentality adjacent instrumentality my connection for it, arsenic a person - perceive to British doctors, British scientists, the NHS."

WHO says links 'inconsistent'

Patient information curate Dr Zubir Ahmed MP echoed this connected societal media, saying: "For the avoidance of immoderate doubt, Paracetamol remains the safest painkiller to instrumentality during pregnancy."

Dr Alison Cave, main information serviceman astatine the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, besides said that "there is nary grounds that taking paracetamol during gestation causes autism successful children".

She added that paracetamol "remains the recommended symptom alleviation enactment for large women erstwhile utilized arsenic directed," and that the MHRA's proposal "is based connected rigorous appraisal of the champion disposable technological evidence".

The British officials were supported by the European Medicines Agency, which said determination was nary caller grounds that would mean its recommendations for the usage of paracetamol during gestation would change.

Tarik Jasarevic, a World Health Organisation spokesperson, added astatine a property briefing that the links betwixt the usage of the cause and autism "remains inconsistent".

Trump: Tylenol 'not good' for large women

During a property league with US wellness caput Robert F Kennedy Jr, Mr Trump urged large women to halt taking Tylenol.

After saying that Mr Kennedy Jr "wants to beryllium precise cautious with what helium says," the US president added: "Taking Tylenol is not good. All right. I'll accidental it. It's not good.

"For this reason, they are powerfully recommending that women bounds Tylenol usage during gestation unless medically necessary. That's, for instance, successful cases of highly precocious fever, that you consciousness you can't pugnacious it out. You can't bash it. I conjecture there's that."

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Mr Trump past said cardinal vaccinations for newborn babies should beryllium delayed, that combined measles, mumps and rubella jabs should beryllium fixed separately, and suggested that they are linked to autism.

"They pump truthful overmuch worldly into those beauteous small babies, it's a disgrace," helium added. "I don't spot it. I deliberation it's precise bad."

Mr Jasarevic pushed powerfully backmost connected that claim, saying: "We cognize that vaccines bash not origin autism. Vaccines, arsenic I
said, prevention countless lives.

"So this is thing that subject has proven, and these things should not beryllium truly questioned."