Trump also suggested leucovorin, a form of folic acid, as a treatment for autism symptoms.

US President Donald Trump did not provide evidence during his White House announcement around paracetamol and autism links. Credit: Francis Chung/POOL/EPA

“Taking Tylenol is not good. I’ll say it. Not good,” he said. “You shouldn’t give the child a Tylenol every time he gets a shot,” he added.

Experts say there is no firm evidence of a link between the use of Tylenol — widely known as paracetamol outside the US — and autism. They say leucovorin, used to treat some cancer patients on chemotherapy, has shown some promise in very small trials, but that large, randomised trials are still needed.

What is Tylenol?

Pregnant women in Australia are advised that they “can use paracetamol to help with mild to moderate pain during pregnancy”, and this advice remains unchanged.

Paracetamol safe to use in pregnancy, TGA says

“The TGA maintains robust post-market safety surveillance and pharmacovigilance processes for all medicines registered in Australia, including paracetamol. This includes detailed analysis of adverse event reports made by medicine consumers, clinicians and pharmaceutical companies, review of published medical literature, and close liaison with international medicines regulators.”

What evidence is there to link paracetamol with autism?

Andrew Whitehouse, an autism researcher who is deputy director of the Kids Research Institute Australia, said researchers involved in that project reviewed all the studies in the area that have looked at whether taking paracetamol during pregnancy increases the likelihood that the offspring of that pregnancy has a neurodevelopmental condition such as autism or ADHD.

Andrew Whitehouse says while some studies have proven an association between paracetamol taken during pregnancy and a slight increase in the chance of autism in offspring, causation has not been proven. Credit: .

He said what had been found was “nothing new”.

“More recent and robust studies have refuted these claims, supporting the weight of other scientific evidence that does not support a causal link between paracetamol and autism or ADHD,” it said.

What is known to cause autism?

“However, research shows that genetics play a large role, with hundreds of genes being linked to autism,” she said.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect a person’s communication, sensory sensitivity and social interactions and may present in obsessive interests or repetitive behaviours. Source: Getty / dragana991

Trump administration’s suggestion

The FDA, in its approval, cited a review of the use of leucovorin in 40 patients with a rare metabolic disorder called cerebral folate deficiency that can lead to a range of neurological symptoms, some of which are seen in people with autism.

“It doesn’t meet any threshold of any kind of standard level of science to indicate that this should be used other than for further research.”

‘Nothing burger’: Calls for more funding and research

She said such an announcement just added “a lot of poor science into an area that actually does need a lot more research, it does need a lot more focus”.

Nicole Rogerson from Autism Awareness Australia says more research needs to be done into autism in Australia. Source: Supplied

“Autism research in Australia is chronically underfunded and even worse when we look at research around those with profound autism, which make up 25 per cent of the autism community in Australia,” she said.

‘Inherently sexist’

David Tonge is the chief executive of Amaze, the peak body for people with autism and their supporters.

The head of Amaze, David Tong, says the debate around taking paracetamol in pregnancy and autism rates was not helpful. Source: Supplied

Tonge said any attempt to link a complex neurodevelopmental disability like autism to a single potential factor was both short-sighted and sexist.