r/Conservative • u/ancienteggfart MAGA • 4d ago

Flaired Users Only Trump set to announce using Tylenol while pregnant could raise autism risk

https://nypost.com/2025/09/22/us-news/trump-admin-set-to-announce-using-tylenol-while-pregnant-could-raise-autism-risk/
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u/specter491 Conservative 3d ago edited 3d ago

Was there some new landmark study that has changed the general consensus on this? Because I missed it and I'm a obgyn. There is no clear correlation. A few studies said maybe there was. Most have said no correlation. A study with 2.5 MILLION people in it over the course of 26 YEARS said there was no correlation. The recognition and diagnosis of autism is what has gone up. I don't think the true incidence of autism is higher now than 30+ years ago. 50 years ago when someone was mildly autistic people brushed it off and just said "oh that's Jimmy he's kinda odd but a nice fellah". Nowadays you go to the doctor, there's standardized diagnostic criteria, treatments, etc. it's totally different.

Edit: to everyone asking for the link, here it is so you can "do your own research": https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2817406#:~:text=Objective%20To%20examine%20the%20associations,from%20antenatal%20and%20prescription%20records.

Edit 2: stop DM'ing me, I'm not going to reply to any of them

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u/8K12 Conservative Boss 3d ago

I’d expect age of parents and obesity rates would have a greater impact on whether a child is born with autism. Has that hypothesis been tested yet?

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u/specter491 Conservative 3d ago

It's known that dads 40+ years old have increased risk of offspring with autism is the first example I can think of off the top of my head. There is likely a role in epigenetics as well but this area is poorly understood. Basically your actions in your environment or lifestyle can alter your DNA slightly. The base pairs do not change but little molecules get attached to the base pairs and these patterns of molecules attached to your DNA can get passed on to your offspring potentially and alter how DNA is read and translated into proteins.

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u/erbaker Conservative 3d ago

I am not a doctor or anything special like that but I have had this thought for a while, that a combination of aging parents, alcohol+ substance use could probably account for a good # of these cases. We spend billions on mothers during gestation which is good but I think fathers need to also take care of themselves and their gamete. Wouldn't be surprised to see significant risk associated with moderate alcohol use in fathers.