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A new study of 64,000 Danish women found that children whose mothers took the painkiller acetaminophen at any point during pregnancy were 29% more likely to be diagnosed with ADHDthan were children whose mothers took none. The risk increased the most — by 63% — when acetaminophen was taken during the second and third trimesters, and by 28% when used in the third trimester alone. But when taken only in the first trimester, the added risk was 9%.
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Even so, the study results shouldn't dissuade doctors from recommending Tylenol to a patient with a fever, because an unchecked fever during pregnancy has been linked to lower IQ in children. An editorial published alongside the report also cautioned that physicians and pregnant women would be wrong to change their practices on the basis of one study alone.
Without more details on how acetaminophen might lay the foundations for ADHD, and when and in whom it is most likely to boost risk, the current findings "should be interpreted cautiously," wrote the editorialists, led by neuropsychologist Miriam Cooper of the University of Cardiff in Wales. Still, the link found in Denmark underscores that "the safety of some medications during pregnancy should not unquestioningly be considered absolute."
THis is an amazing study and I hope it is replicated (or more studies done) on various OTC meds as well as environmental factors. With the rate of ADHD diagnoses having skyrocketed in the last 25 years, this is important information.
Hugely important study. Tylenol was one of the few drugs people took without much consideration. The bottom line remains if it's needed to reduce a fever then use it as the fever is more dangerous to the fetus than the drug. Other than that seek alternatives.
I have three kids, two have ADHD. I took a little Tylenol during those pregnancies, maybe during a cold but definitely just a little a few times. With the other pregnancy, I had very serious herniated disk pain and sciatica. I took tylenol frequently. That child does not have the slightest ADHD tendency.
I am not disputing the study, but I am wondering if the key is Tylenol in combination with something else, like Sudafed? I was also told it was okay to take Sudafed during my pregnancies. What my two ADHD pregnancies have in common is I took the Tylenol when I was sick so I probably took Sudafed around the same time. With the non-ADHD pregnancy, I only took the tylenol.
Every college student knows the old trick of taking two tylenol and drinking a huge glass of water before you go to sleep after a night of drinking. It's terrible for your liver but it does speed the absorption of alcohol and give you less of a hangover the next day. It stands to reason that tylenol could do this to a pregnant woman and her baby if she takes tylenol and is exposed to another substance around the same time - like Sudafed, or perhaps a food additive, or fumes, or household cleaner or skin lotion. Really anything, you breathe, eat or touch gets processed through your liver so if Tylenol speeds up that process, you would be inadvertently flooding your baby with a substance at damaging levels. Maybe it's not the tylenol itself, but tylenol is the vehicle that makes other substances even more dangerous.
Tylenol is a poison and it should have been banned back in the 70's for liver damage. High doses or low doses with alcohol can cause liver damage. Now this just adds more reason to have it banned.
Doesn't leave many options for a pregnant woman. My wife's a pharmacist and hardly used it, but it's definitely good to see studies like this come out. More research is needed for a conclusive link. this is just correlation at this point.
Slightly worrying study for me as I had to take a lot of painkillers in the second half of my pregnancy (because of swollen kidney and appendicitis) at the time I was more worried about my baby being born addicted to the opiates so I tried to mostly stick to paracetamol.
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