One expert says an "information void" has allowed non-evidence-based claims and conspiracy theories around autism to flourish.
Source: AAP / Francis Chung/Sipa USA
When United States President Donald Trump said there was an association between mothers taking Tylenol (paracetamol) and "a very increased risk of autism" in children, he added fuel to a fire of mis- and disinformation that has been raging for years.
Trump, flanked by his health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and TV-physician-turned-healthcare-administrator Mehmet Oz, said taking paracetamol was "not good" and suggested without evidence that autism does not appear in communities where it was not widely used.
Trump's comments came just a few months after Kennedy, who is widely considered a vaccine sceptic though has disputed he is "anti-vaccine", had vowed to find the "cause" of autism by September. That pledge took many by surprise, given that decades of research have not established a singular cause for the neurodevelopmental condition.
Unsurprisingly, Trump's comments were met with strong pushback from doctors and other members of the medical community. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday there was no conclusive scientific evidence that confirmed a possible link between autism and the use of paracetamol during pregnancy.
Source: AAP / AP / Jae C. Hong
In Australia, the link was firmly rejected by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and chief medical officer Michael Kidd.
"Robust scientific...
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