Science Weekly Fact-checking Trump’s autism announcement
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Sep 24, 2025 
In this enlightening discussion, Ian Sample, the science editor at The Guardian, tackles the recent claims made by Donald Trump regarding autism, paracetamol, and vaccinations. Ian discusses the scientific consensus debunking the supposed link between paracetamol use during pregnancy and autism. He highlights a substantial Swedish study that refutes these claims and elaborates on the lack of evidence supporting the vaccine-autism myth. The conversation also addresses the implications of such misinformation on public health and medical trust.
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Paracetamol Links Are Not Proof Of Cause
- Studies show mixed associations between prenatal paracetamol use and autism without proving causation.
- Confounders like maternal conditions and sibling analyses often remove the apparent link.
Sibling Analyses Weaken The Association
- Large sibling and twin analyses largely erase the small population associations seen in some studies.
- Those designs suggest maternal paracetamol is unlikely to be a causal factor for autism.
Balance Pain Relief And Fever Risk
- Doctors advise using paracetamol sparingly in pregnancy but not avoiding it entirely without cause.
- Avoiding it risks untreated high fever, which can cause serious pregnancy complications.