Health agencies in the European Union and the United Kingdom have confirmed the safety of paracetamol during pregnancy, rejecting a warning from US President Donald Trump who linked the popular painkiller to autism.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that evidence of such a link was inconsistent and urged caution in drawing conclusions.
Trump has linked autism to the use of childhood vaccines and the use of Tylenol (paracetamol) by pregnant women, putting unsubstantiated claims at the center of US health policy.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said there was no new evidence that would require a change to current recommendations on the use of paracetamol during pregnancy, Reuters reports.
"The available evidence does not show a link between the use of paracetamol during pregnancy and autism," the EMA said in a statement, adding that the drug can be used when needed, but at the lowest effective dose and with as little use as possible. On Monday, the British regulator also confirmed that the use of paracetamol during pregnancy is safe.
"The evidence remains inconsistent," WHO spokesman Tarik Jašarević said at a briefing in Geneva, responding to a question about a possible link between paracetamol in pregnancy and autism.
He stated that there were some studies that indicated a possible connection, but that later research did not confirm it.
"This lack of repeatability really requires caution in drawing causal conclusions," he said.
At a White House news conference on Monday, Trump offered medical advice to pregnant women and parents of young children, repeatedly telling them not to use the painkiller and suggesting that common vaccines not be given together or too early in childhood.
Trump's advice runs counter to the opinion of medical societies, which cite data from numerous studies that acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, has a safe role in protecting the health of pregnant women.
When asked about Trump's statements, Jašarević emphasized that vaccines do not cause autism and confirmed their life-saving value.
"This is something that science has proven and really shouldn't be questioned," he added.
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