"President Donald Trump made baffling remarks during a Monday press conference, claiming that pregnant women should avoid Tylenol, the brand name of acetaminophen, arguing that it was associated with a "very increased" risk of autism. Then things got even sketchier when the New York Times revealed that the researcher behind the studies cited during Monday's press conference had a financial interest in warning users against the use of Tylenol."
"It's a glaring conflict of interest, and a worrying example of how the Trump administration is using quack science to further a pseudoscientific agenda. Worse yet, it's using baseless evidence linked to civil litigation to justify its claims. A federal judge dismissed the suits aimed at the Tylenol maker, which were filed by families who claimed their children developed autism or ADHD after using Tylenol during pregnancy."
"The judge cited a lack of reliable scientific evidence and agreed with the defendants that Baccarelli had "cherry-picked and misrepresented study results," according to the NYT. While plenty of research has gone into examining a possible link between autism and acetaminophen use by pregnant women, no substantive connection has been found. Even the World Health Organization has also since pushed back against Trump's claims, pointing out that "extensive research, including large-scale studies over the past decade, has found no consistent association," in a statement."
President Donald Trump advised pregnant women to avoid Tylenol, claiming a "very increased" risk of autism. Andrea Baccarelli received at least $150,000 as an expert witness in lawsuits against Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, creating a clear financial conflict of interest. A federal judge dismissed those lawsuits for lack of reliable scientific evidence and found that Baccarelli had "cherry-picked and misrepresented study results." Multiple studies and the World Health Organization report no consistent association between prenatal acetaminophen use and autism. Reliance on litigation-linked, contested evidence raised concerns about misinformation informing policy.
Read at Futurism
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