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"Sixty-five percent of women will take this drug at some point during pregnancy," Ann Z. Bauer said. She is a doctoral candidate at the School of Health and Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Bauer was not involved in the new research but has studied Tylenol and autism risk.

"Some people just pop Tylenol when they have a headache," Dr. Martha Herbert, an autism researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said.

The developmental problems seen in this study align with symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, though the children had not been diagnosed at age three. Herbert has been studying the possible link between acetaminophen and the disorder for several years.

"I don't think it's a done deal," she told Reuters Health. She doesn't like to pin "the cause of autism" on any one thing, as many factors are likely involved.

"But for those people who wish to take precautions, this is something they can do," Herbert said, referring to pregnant women cutting down on Tylenol use or choosing ibuprofen instead.

"With every choice you make, make the healthy choice," she said.

In a statement to Reuters Health, Jodie Wertheim a spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson, said the drug "has an exceptional safety profile. As the authors note in the study, there are no prospective, randomized controlled studies demonstrating a causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and adverse effects on child development."

Wertheim continued, "We always recommend that consumers carefully read and follow label instructions when using any over the counter medication. In addition, our label notes if pregnant or breast-feeding, ask a health professional before use. Consumers who have medical concerns or questions about acetaminophen should contact their health care professional."

The developmental effects Brandlistuen's team noted at age three could manifest differently or disappear with age, but only future studies can answer that question, she said.

"Since this is the only study to show this, there is a need for further research to confirm or refute these results before too many implications are made," she said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/18zAkej International Journal of Epidemiology, online October 24, 2013.

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So hot.

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Koalas will rip your a-hole to shreds

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