Health Report Trump links paracetamol with autism. What’s the evidence?
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Sep 23, 2025 Join Professor Andrew Whitehouse, an autism researcher from the Kids Research Institute, and Professor Chris Blythe, a pediatrician and vaccinologist, as they dissect President Trump's controversial claims linking paracetamol use during pregnancy to autism. They clarify that increased autism diagnoses result from changing diagnostic criteria rather than an epidemic. Blythe emphasizes the absence of any vaccine-autism connections, while Whitehouse warns about the misleading nature of unproven treatments and the need for evidence-based practices.
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Broader Diagnosis Explains Rising Rates
- Diagnostic criteria broadened over decades, creating an apparent rise in autism diagnoses.
- Andrew Whitehouse explains this expansion produced a 'spectrum' capturing milder cases once overlooked.
Extensive Evidence Refutes Vaccine Link
- Large-scale research over decades finds no link between vaccines and autism.
- Chris Blythe emphasizes studies involving millions that consistently show no association.
Wakefield Paper Sparked A False Panic
- Andrew Wakefield's 1998 case series of 12 children sparked global fears about MMR and autism.
- Chris Blythe recounts that the paper was found fraudulent, retracted, and led to Wakefield losing his medical licence.