Anti-vaccine groups melt down over RFK Jr. linking autism to Tylenol
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
* there is no evidence linking acetaminophen to autism
* frequency of autism diagnosis is growing at a considerable rate: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology_of_autism
* males are diagnosed at a rate of 4.3:1 compared to females
The current evidence suggests challenges in the current diagnostic approach because it does not appear that females less inclined to possess autism though they are diagnosed at such a lower rate. That indicates poor and incomplete means of identification. Despite the greatly increased frequency of overall diagnosed individuals the numbers of impacted persons might actually be quite a bit higher.
My wife works special education for a large public school system and the difference in population, both quantity and diversity, is stunning compared to just a prior generation. You can’t help but wonder if it’s something in the food supply or some other widely distributed factor that compounds over time and impacts either early childhood development or environmental/parental conditions.
This is not entirely true. Several large observational studies show a statistically significant (but small absolute) difference in rates of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism among children with and without maternal acetaminophen exposure. See this meta-analysis [0].
Now, the actions taken by this administration and what they are claiming about the evidence are a different matter altogether. Cause and effect are far from determined in the acetaminophen/autism relationship. But informational accuracy is not known to be the interest of Trump and RFK Jr.
[0] https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-...
The reality is likely complex of many minor factors frequently encountered over a long period of time, no smoking gun. Genetics is also a factor with some people being overwhelmingly more likely to encounter autism than others and some forms of autism are 80%+ inheritable.
TLDR: anti-vax groups want to mainly blame vaccines for autism, and this Tylenol claim takes some of the spotlight away from vaccines.
Meanwhile the other partisans are insisting that the paracetamol claim is junk science. The whole episode is ridiculous. I get the sense that if RFK linked lung cancer to smoking, the same appeals to tradition would be used by the opposition.
I remember hearing the claim that paracetamol wouldn't be approved under current standards decades ago. Wasn't sure about that, but I generally avoid tablets of all kinds. It wasn't especially relevant for me then or now.
https://www.fda.gov/media/188843/download?attachment
>Notice to Physicians on the Use of Acetaminophen During Pregnancy
> The association is an ongoing area of scientific debate and clinicians should be aware of the issue in their clinical decision-making, especially given that most short-term fevers in pregnant women and young children do not require medication.
>In the spirit of patient safety and prudent medicine, clinicians should consider minimizing the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy for routine low-grade fevers. This consideration should also be balanced with the fact that acetaminophen is the safest over-the-counter alternative in pregnancy among all analgesics and antipyretics; aspirin and ibuprofen have well-documented adverse impacts on the fetus
The movie Lone Star has a great line that's relevant: "It's always heartwarming to see a prejudice overcome by a deeper prejudice."