By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – World Health Agency on Wednesday stressed that there is no conclusive scientific evidence linking the use of paracetamol also known as acetaminophen during pregnancy, with autism spectrum disorder.
WHO said in a statement “Extensive research, including large-scale studies over the past decade, has found no consistent association,” urged expectant mothers to follow the advice of their health providers.
US President Donald Trump and senior health officials issued a new warning that acetaminophen the active ingredient in the painkiller Tylenol is linked to a rise in autism, along with announcing a new study on the potential causal effect of childhood vaccines.
WHO reminded that medicines should always be used with caution during pregnancy, particularly in the first trimester.
Autism affects 62 million people worldwide, or about one in 127. The exact causes remain unclear, with multiple complex factors thought to be involved, WHO stated.
WHO also reiterated that vaccines do not cause autism, emphasized that “large, high-quality studies from many countries have all reached the same conclusion.”
The agency pointed out that the original research suggested a link was flawed and has long been discredited.
Childhood immunization programmes, guided by the WHO and adopted by all countries, have saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years.
“Vaccines protect not just individual children, but entire communities,” the agency noted. Autism and other neuro developmental disorders will feature prominently at the UN high-level meeting on mental health and non-communicable diseases, WHO added.
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