The Trump Administration is warning against Tylenol, citing unsupported claims that use during pregnancy may cause autism, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. points at rising autism rates in the United States.
The Administration’s claims about the connection between Tylenol (acetaminophen) and autism raise questions over correlation and causation.
Dr. Cornelia Kirchhoff, clinical associate professor and associate director of the WSU Psychology Clinic, said they have seen an increase in requests for autism assessments over the last year. She pointed to social media and greater awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder and the symptoms associated with it.
Increased awareness of the symptoms of ASD makes people question whether they might be on the spectrum, she said. This leads to more people getting evaluated, a percentage of whom get diagnosed.
Research into ASD has identified many causes, with strong support for genetic factors, she said.
“The causes of ASD that have been researched are manifold,” Kirchhoff said. “There is strong support for a genetic component.”
There has been a similar increase in requests for ADHD assessments, she said. She once again pointed to the rise of media attention and general awareness.
In recent years, the criteria for autism diagnoses has widely changed and expanded. In 2013, the autism diagnoses were consolidated into a single spectrum, known as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and criteria were expanded to include broader symptoms ranging from social communication deficits to behavior patterns and hyperfixations.
Correlation versus causation is the idea that just because two facts exist simultaneously, it does not mean one resulted in the other or the two have any relationship at all.
Secretary Kennedy, however, believes there is a larger environmental factor contributing to rising autism rates. Kennedy, a long-time critic of the COVID-19 vaccine who has long voiced skepticism towards vaccinations, said the Department of Health and Human Services will continue looking at Tylenol and vaccines.
“We will be uncompromising and relentless in our search for answers,” Kennedy said during a press conference.
In April, Kennedy pushed back against the notion that better diagnostics and more national awareness has led to the increase in autism diagnoses.
“One of the things that I think that we need to move away from today is this ideology that…the autism prevalence increases…are simply artifacts of better diagnoses, better recognition or changing diagnostic criteria,” he said.
