‘Tylenol Lawsuits’ Allege Retailers & Manufacturers Very Well Knew: That Acetaminophen During Pregnancy Is One Causal Factor in Autism & ADHD
Did you know this? Adapted from The Children's Health Defense! A "must-read" to "pass forward".
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Hundreds of “Tylenol lawsuits” have been filed against retailers and manufacturers claiming they sold products containing acetaminophen to pregnant women. When they already had science showing these medications could harm the developing fetus.
The number of lawsuits could soon reach into the thousands.
These lawsuits — which allege acetaminophen use during pregnancy can cause children to be born with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) — are some of the most critical and useful litigations in our litigious culture.
Many lawsuits are frivolous. These save kids’ and families’ lives.
When I Went to School
When I went to school, no one was diagnosed with autism. I know of no adults my age that have autism or severe ADHD.
Yet today, ADHD is said to occur in 1 out of every 34 US kids.
A JAMA Pediatrics research letter states 1 out of every 30 children born in the U.S. in 2020 was diagnosed with autism. This is a 53% increase in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in young Americans since 2017.
What’s going on?
Why aren’t our FDA and NIH fervently looking into causes? Not just more meds to treat more disabled unfortunate kids?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports similar statistics.
Autism and mental health development or mental development issues touch a huge number of Americans.
Those suing these companies believe the science indicates that taking Tylenol can be a major cause of many of these problems (not the only one, but a preventable one).
There are those that say the huge number of vaccine rollouts that occurred around 1988 also correlates with the spike in these cases.
The issue is, what is causing this increase? Not just in treating these issues, but in stopping them from occurring in the first place!
The Goal
The goal here is not to take Tylenol off the market.
The goal here is to put a warning label for pregnant women on these products.
Warning labels help doctors and expectant mothers to be able to make intelligent decisions about what risks they might expose their children to if they are taken during pregnancy.
The lawsuits allege retailers, including Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and others, falsely advertised products that contain acetaminophen as being safe for pregnant women and did not warn them about the risks posed to fetal development.
Lawsuits also are expected against Johnson & Johnson for its alleged role in encouraging widespread acetaminophen use during pregnancy.
Products that contain the drug include:
Tylenol, Alka-Seltzer Plus, DayQuil, Excedrin, Goody’s, Mucinex, NyQuil, Robitussin, and some generic and store-brand equivalents.
The lawsuits allege the products have been advertised as safe for pregnant soon-to-be-moms since the 1950s.
Despite the existence of dozens of peer-reviewed studies showing acetaminophen poses serious risks to pregnant women and unborn children.
Lawsuits are being pursued on behalf of children under age 15 who were diagnosed with ASD between the ages of 1 and 10, and children under age 15 who were diagnosed with ADHD between the ages of 8 and 14.
One example case:
Abby Horowitz sued Costco in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on July 29, 2022. Horowitz claims Costco sold pain medications containing acetaminophen without warning about autism risks for unborn children.
Horowitz took acetaminophen between three and six times per week for pain relief during her two pregnancies. Her two children, J.S. and C.C., were born in 2014 and 2020, respectively.
Horowitz’s first child was diagnosed with autism in 2014, and her second child is showing signs of developmental delays and is being treated for autism.
A growing number of scientific, peer-reviewed studies identified links between acetaminophen use by pregnant women and the onset of ASD and ADHD, and other developmental problems, in their children.
Acetaminophen became the preferred drug to treat fevers and pain in children in the early 1980s after aspirin became associated with Reye’s syndrome.
An increase in ASD has been documented as having begun during this time period.
In January 2015, the FDA issued an acetaminophen pregnancy warning, stating expectant mothers should be cautious when using such products.
The FDA, however, claimed there is “not enough research” to confirm safety risks for unborn children from acetaminophen exposure.
Yet, numerous peer-reviewed scientific studies show such a link:
Data from the ongoing Boston Birth Cohort Study, sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has indicated that “exposure to acetaminophen in the womb may increase a child’s risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder.”
A July 2022 study of acetaminophen published in Minerva Pediatrics “offers 17 lines of evidence that the commonly used remedy for pain and fever may be contributing to the autism epidemic,” as previously reported by The Defender. Dr. William Parker, a lead researcher on the study, told The Defender at the time that “acetaminophen would never be approved for pediatric use by today’s regulatory standards.”
A February 2022 study published in the European Journal of Pediatrics found that acetaminophen use in infants and children has never been shown to be safe for their neurodevelopment.
In September 2021, a consensus of 91 scientists, clinicians, and public health professionals published in Nature Reviews Endocrinology journal called for the FDA’s 2015 recommendations to be updated. The consensus stated that “increasing experimental and epidemiological research suggests that prenatal exposure to [acetaminophen] might alter fetal development, which could increase the risks of some neurodevelopmental, reproductive, and urogenital disorders.” This study also found that acetaminophen was, in fact, never assessed for impact on neurodevelopment.
A June 2021 study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology found that children exposed to Tylenol and acetaminophen during pregnancy were significantly more likely to develop ASD and ADHD symptoms.
A September 2020 study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggested that the use of Tylenol and acetaminophen during pregnancy may impair the brain of a developing fetus. This could result in ADHD symptoms and other neurological disorders.
A January 2020 study published in European Psychiatry found that girls whose mothers took acetaminophen during pregnancy were six times more likely to suffer from delayed language development, and used fewer words than normal by the age of 30 months.
An October 2019 Johns Hopkins study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that exposure to acetaminophen during pregnancy may increase a child’s risk of developing autism and ADHD, as the children that had the highest acetaminophen metabolite levels in their blood showed the highest risk of developmental disorders. This study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.
A November 2017 study published in Pediatrics, based on data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, found that there is a possible association between short-term acetaminophen use during pregnancy and the risk of giving birth to a child who will later develop ADHD.
An October 2017 NIH study linked acetaminophen use by pregnant women to “lower performance intelligence quotient (IQ) … autism spectrum disorder, neurodevelopmental problems (gross motor development, communication), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, poorer attention and executive function, and behavioral problems in childhood.”
A 2017 study published in the Journal of International Medical Research by renowned autism researchers from Duke, Harvard, and the University of Colorado found that “the long-term effects of acetaminophen exposure on neural development have never been evaluated in humans.” The study’s authors stated that even at very low doses, acetaminophen “triggers immune system activation and oxidative stress responses” — both potential warning signs of autism.
An October 2016 study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggested that the side effects of acetaminophen, when used during pregnancy, may increase the risk of children being born with behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and emotional difficulties.
A June 2016 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was linked to a higher risk of autism among males, and an increased prevalence of ADHD cases among both boys and girls.
An October 2013 study in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that children whose mothers took acetaminophen products during pregnancy for more than 28 days exhibited poorer than normal gross motor development, communication, externalizing behavior, and internalizing behavior.
A May 2013 study funded by the NIH found a link between circumcision-related acetaminophen use and the increased prevalence of autism.
Dr. Roberta Ness, an epidemiologist who helped demonstrate a link between baby powder and ovarian cancer, is also sounding an alarm.
“I’m not saying that acetaminophen is now the cause (of autism and ADHD). I’m saying that it’s “a” cause. (meaning one of the causes).
“This is our first opportunity to find an exposure that may be preventable and may be a cause.”
In a separate interview with NH Journal, Ness said,
“I am absolutely convinced that it’s not only a link, but it’s a cause. I would say in the last seven years, the manufacturers, the FDA, OBGYNs, have been or should have been aware of this evolving literature and how convincing it is. None of them have done anything to alert the American public.”
Did your OBGYN inform you of this?
Dr. B.