The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce that pregnant women’s use of an over-the-counter pain medication might be linked to autism, according to a report that will also suggest a medicine derived from folate can be used to treat symptoms of the developmental disorder in some individuals, sources familiar with the matter said, Liz Essley Whyte and Nidhi Subbaraman reported on September 5 for The Wall Street Journal.
“The agency confirmed it is working on a report, but declined to comment on its conclusions,” NPR’s Yuki Noguchi and Jon Hamilton confirmed on September 6 after an email exchange with Rich Danker, a spokesperson for the HHS. “This is just the latest controversy surrounding the actions of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeated unsupported claims about autism,” Noguchi and Hamilton noted.
The Autism Science Foundation released a press release in response to the article in The Wall Street Journal, stating that “any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature given the current science.” Regarding folate supplementation during pregnancy, the brief stated that “while not definitive, the weight of evidence suggests that inadequate folate during critical windows of pregnancy may increase autism risk, whereas appropriate supplementation likely reduces it.”
“It is disingenuous and misleading to boil autism’s causes down to one simple thing. We know that autism is incredibly complicated, and we need to move away from studies that simplify it down to one exposure without any other considerations,” said Dr. Alycia Halladay, Chief Science Officer at the Autism Science Foundation, in a statement.
Ashley Lutz with Fortune reported on Monday that the shares of Tylenol's parent company, Kenvue, sold off sharply following the reports and remained volatile.
