Paracetamol-Autism Link Lacks Evidence - Summary - MDSpire

Paracetamol-Autism Link Lacks Evidence

Sibling-controlled studies reveal familial confounding, not causal association, in umbrella review

  • By

  • Kerri Miller

  • November 10, 2025

  • 4 min

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Objective:

To evaluate the evidence regarding the association between maternal paracetamol use during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring.

Approach:
  • Review Methodology: An umbrella review was conducted, evaluating 9 systematic reviews covering 40 primary studies, using rapid-review methods and the A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR 2) criteria.
Key Findings:
  • Current evidence does not clearly establish a link between maternal paracetamol use and ASD or ADHD.
  • Confidence in review findings ranged from low to critically low due to methodological limitations.
  • Most reviews lacked registered protocols, comprehensive literature search strategies, and justification for excluded studies.
  • Meta-analyses reported associations for ADHD and smaller estimates for ASD.
  • Sibling-controlled studies showed that associations weakened or disappeared when adjusting for familial factors.
Interpretation:

Limitations:
  • Methodological limitations in the systematic reviews evaluated.
  • Lack of comprehensive literature search strategies in most reviews.
  • No systematic reviews used recommended tools to assess risk of bias in non-randomised trials.
Conclusion:

Sources:

Original Source(s)

Paracetamol-Autism Link Lacks Evidence

  • by Kerri Miller

  • November 10, 2025

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