The Trump administration is preparing to release a controversial report this month that will claim a link between the use of the pain reliever acetaminophen during pregnancy, certain vitamin deficiencies, and autism spectrum disorder, despite a lack of credible scientific evidence to support such conclusions.

The forthcoming Health and Human Services (HHS) report marks the latest flashpoint under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly promoted unsupported theories about autism and pledged to “get to the bottom” of its causes. The agency confirmed a report is in the works but declined to discuss its findings.

“Until we release the final report, any claims about its contents are nothing more than speculation,” HHS spokesperson Rich Danker said in an emailed statement.

Medical leaders swiftly condemned the idea that acetaminophen — sold widely under the brand name Tylenol — could be a cause of autism. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine called the drug “safe and recommended” for treating pain and fever during pregnancy, stressing that failing to manage these conditions can carry serious risks.

“Untreated fever, particularly in the first trimester, increases the risk of miscarriage, birth defects, and premature birth,” the society said in a statement. “Untreated pain can lead to maternal depression, anxiety, and high blood pressure.”

Dr. Alycia Halladay, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, dismissed attempts to pin autism on a single factor. “It is disingenuous and misleading to boil autism’s causes down to one simple thing,” she said.

The foundation points to hundreds of genes linked to autism, along with complex environmental factors. “Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature given the current science,” the group said.

A handful of small studies have suggested possible associations between fetal exposure to acetaminophen and later diagnoses of autism or ADHD. But the largest study to date — a National Institutes of Health–funded collaboration between U.S. and Swedish researchers — found no increased risk.

Even before that 2024 study was published, a U.S. District Court had reached the same conclusion in a product liability case, rejecting claims that acetaminophen causes autism.

The HHS report is also expected to highlight leucovorin — a prescription form of folinic acid, derived from folate (vitamin B9) — as a potential protective factor. Leucovorin is commonly used to counteract chemotherapy side effects and is sometimes prescribed off-label for autism, though evidence supporting its use is minimal.

Some research suggests that certain individuals with autism process folate differently, and leucovorin may bypass those metabolic hurdles. Still, experts caution the science remains inconclusive.

The Autism Science Foundation noted that four studies hint at a possible link between low maternal folate levels and higher autism risk but emphasized the field is in its infancy. “More studies are necessary before a definitive conclusion can be reached,” the group said.

Folate has long been recognized as essential to fetal brain and nervous system development, and pregnant women are widely advised to take folic acid supplements to prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida. But experts warn against overstating folate’s connection to autism — or suggesting that a common, recommended medication like acetaminophen poses dangers it does not.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)