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Fiona fox's blog
Last year, Trump caused a stir by suggesting that taking paracetamol during pregnancy might increase the risk of autism among children, pointing to meta-analyses apparently showing small associations between paracetamol in pregnancy and increased risk of autism and ADHD.
Scientists at the time rejected the evidence, referring to bigger and better quality studies like the Swedish/US one on 186,000 Swedish born children published in 2024 that showed no link. Now, The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health journal are publishing a new systematic review and meta-analysis which has looked at 43 studies.
The SMC asked the lead author to join a call to present her findings and answer questions about study design etc.
Speakers included:
Professor Asma Khalil, Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Medicine at City St George’s, University of London and Consultant Obstetrician
This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of comments.