RFK Jr.: No clear evidence linking Tylenol, autism
By: Swappna Venugopal Ramaswamy
USA today
WASHINGTON - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said October 29 [2025] that he does not have "sufficient" evidence to link Tylenol to autism, more than a month after the White House discouraged the medicine's use by pregnant women and young children.
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Evidence does not show that Kenvue's pain medicine Tylenol definitively causes autism but that it should still be sued cautious, President Donald Trump 's top health officials told reporters. In September, [2025] the president said U.S. health officials would recommend limiting Tylenol's use.
..... "The causative association with, between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal periods is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism. But it is very suggestive,: Kennedy told reporters, citing animal, blood and observational studies. "There should be a cautious approach to it," he said.
..... Kennedy's comments also come one day after the Texas attorney general sued Kenvue, the maker of the medication with the accusative ingredient acetaminophen, which has been sold widely for decades. In a report April 15, [2025] the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2022, in 31 children were diagnosed with autism by age 8 in the United States an increase from 1in 36 children in 20202. The prevalence of autism among boys in 2022 was 1 in 20, five times higher than it was in 2000.
..... In August, [2025] Kennedy said a study on autism he spearheaded in April [2025] had found "interventions' that could be causing the neurodevelopmental disorder, Trump and Kennedy, neither of whom are doctors, held a press conference in September [2025] to specifically warn pregnant women against taking Tylenol without citing any scientific evidence.
..... "Don't take Tylenol,: trump said repeatedly during a September 22 [2025] news conference along side Kennedy. "fight like hell not to take it," Kennedy has couched his statement. During a Cabinet meeting on October 9 [2025] with Trump, Kennedy said: "Anybody who takes the stuff during pregnancy unless they have to, is irresponsible. It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof."
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The food and drug Administration announced on September 22 [2025] that it would "issue a physician notice and begin the process to initiate a safety label change for acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol and other such drugs.
..... "The FDA is responding to prior clinical and laboratory studies that suggest a potential association between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and adverse neurodevelopment outcomes," the agency said in its announcement. "FDA also recognizes that there are contrary studies showing no association and that there can be risks for untreated fever in pregnancy, both for the mother and fetus."
..... HHS said "given the conflicting literature and lack of clear causal evidence" it was encouraging clinicians to "exercise their best judgment."
..... Kennedy's unproven claim initially hit shares of Kenvus, a consumer health company, which was spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023. the claim also prompted push-back from many doctors. Kenvue has repeatedly defended the pain medicine, saying their is no scientific link to autism and warning that such suggestions could endanger maternal health. The company has urged the FDA to reject the call for an autism warning on Tylenol's label and has reportedly hired a new marketing chief. "We agree, as Secretary Kennedy said, that the best message to pregnant women is to consult their healthcare professional before taking acetaminophen, which is what our Tylenol label tells consumers to do," the company said in a statement.
..... Contributing: Reuters