Health Secretary Critiques Danish Study on Tylenol and Autism
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. strongly dismissed the results of a recent Danish study, which indicated no association between autism and the use of Tylenol during pregnancy, labeling the research as “garbage” and “fraudulent.”
During a hearing on Friday with the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Kennedy declared, “The study is a garbage study; it should be retracted,” when asked about its findings.
The study published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Pediatrics examined data from over a million women in Denmark in regard to this potential link.
Kennedy expressed concern that the study relied heavily on prescription information, limiting its examination of women who might use acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, without a prescription. “It was a garbage in, garbage out study,” he asserted, criticizing its integrity.
The study responded to such criticisms, acknowledging that the “true exposure level among those with low-level exposure was likely underestimated,” yet suggested prior studies of over-the-counter medications indicated this bias was largely insignificant.
Another research effort from 2021 assessed whether Danish prescription registries were reliable data points for gauging the effects of aspirin and NSAIDs, concluding that non-recorded use had a “virtually negligible” impact on actual consumption.
Additionally, a 2024 study from Sweden reiterated the absence of a causal relationship between autism and Tylenol exposure among siblings.
Kennedy’s office did not comment on the findings of the 2021 study, nor did it address the latest study’s engagement with his concerns.
Dr. Jeffrey S. Morris, a public health professor at the University of Pennsylvania, criticized Kennedy’s dismissal of the Danish study as shortsighted and dishonest. He highlighted that the Danish research had already examined the bias from low-dose, non-prescription uses.
Morris also pointed out that the latest study showed that children exposed to higher doses of prescribed Tylenol did not exhibit elevated autism risks, suggesting that Kennedy was being dishonest in his assessment.
In earlier statements, Kennedy had promised to identify the cause of the autism epidemic by last September. Following that deadline, he stated in October that his office would work to prove links between Tylenol usage during pregnancy and autism in children, despite acknowledging the lack of conclusive evidence.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump also controversially advised pregnant women to “tough it out” without Tylenol for fevers, comments that many medical experts deemed “reckless and irresponsible.”
Kenvue, the producer of Tylenol, has yet to respond regarding this matter.
