Hey look, it’s big pharma not properly testing stuff and lobbying politicians to sell their shit over the counter.
Monday August 25, 2025
Drug has link to autism
The world’s most popular painkiller may put children at risk of ADID and autism, experts have warned.
Paracetamol is a common medication used by millions of youngsters and adults to treat mild symptoms from colds to headaches.
But new data has claimed the painkiller could be linked to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Experts at Mount Sinai and Harvard’s School of Public Health conducted their research using more than 100,000 people and 46 case studies. The team reviewed which stage of pregnancy mothers took paracetamol and compared it to their subsequent medical records.
Their findings concluded expectant mothers should take the painkiller “for the shortest” period possible, and at the “lowest effective dose”
“Ultimately, the obtained scores suggest strong evidence of a likely relationship between prenatal acetaminophen use and increased risk of ADHD in children,” scientists wrote in the journal Environmental Health. "This includes high-quality studies that provide very strong evidence of an association and studies that provide strong evidence of an association.
ETA: Link to journal mentioned in article: https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-025-01208-0
Edit: holy cow with the downvotes. I took the picture today with my phone camera. The ones bitching about the source: it’s fcking Harvard. The ones claiming later pregnancies have higher risk clearly don’t need to provide any sources for their claims. And together with [email protected] you can enjoy one less subscriber.
Hey, just one more thing I don’t think anyone has mentioned yet.
In your title you refer to autism and ADHD as a “pain”. This leaves a really sour taste in my mouth. Being autistic is not painful or a “tragedy” as some call it. Neurodivergence in itself is nothing other than a brain working different than the majority of brains. It becomes a disability only in an environment that is unfit or unwilling to accommodate those differences.
One of the reasons this post was so poorly received is that as autistic people we are confronted often with voices who say autism needs to be “cured” or “prevented”. Which is honestly quite insulting. I hadn’t had the time yet to dive deeper into the study but it seems to have been done with at least some scientific rigor, unlike so many others. And those studies have been used by well-meaning but also hostile voices to marginalize autistic people.
I’m sorry you’ve been met with so much hate but I would really advise you to think about where we are coming from and what kind of abuse we have to deal with Especially considering the current political climate. And lastly, please rethink your stance on autistic folk being a “pain” because that’s just mean and more importantly actually harmful.
I see your point, but I don’t mean that we are a pain, as per what I wrote, but that we experience pain (or feel pain). Nowhere have I or would I ever claim we are a pain.
But you’re right, the main reason this was so poorly received is because of the fact it could mean too many things.