Feds’ warning about unproven Tylenol-autism link echoed by Florida surgeon general

Florida’s surgeon general on Wednesday echoed President Donald Trump and federal health authorities, saying “it’s reasonable to conclude” that acetaminophen may be contributing to autism in children.

But Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo added that data about the drug’s association with autism are “messy” and that “it’s not a total explanation for autism by any means.”

He said the Florida Department of Health is looking at the issue and may put out guidance about the pharmaceutical’s use in pregnant women that would likely be in line with that of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

That federal agency was more measured this week about the potential but unproven link between the drug and the neurological disorder than Trump, who on Monday said pregnant women should “fight like hell not to take” Tylenol, and encouraged them to “tough it out.”

The FDA, in a Monday letter, said there are contradictory studies and said no causal relationship between the pharmaceutical and autism has been found.

The FDA said physicians should minimize the use of acetaminophen for low-grade fevers, but also said “acetaminophen is the safest over-the-counter alternative in pregnancy” among all painkillers. The FDA also noted that untreated high fever in pregnant women can be dangerous.

Ladapo on Wednesday pointed to the FDA’s announcement, saying it was coming from an “honest” place.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said studies don’t show a causal link between acetaminophen and autism in children or in pregnancy, and noted that there’s no one single cause of autism.

The president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said Monday that “the conditions people use acetaminophen to treat during pregnancy are far more dangerous than any theoretical risks.”

Some researchers at Harvard, Yale and elsewhere have noted that certain studies show a connection between the frequent use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and negative effects on a child’s neurodevelopment.

Ladapo said deciding whether or not to take acetaminophen should be a conversation between a pregnant woman and her doctor, but said it seemed almost certain that “there’s opportunities where the medication doesn’t need to be used.”