A study by Spanish researchers has found that babies who were exposed to common medications such as Paracetamol while still in the womb were linked to autism and ADHD. The study is the first of its kind to show the association between Paracetamol in pregnancy and autism spectrum symptoms in children.
The study observed 2,644 pregnant women in a birth cohort study. About 88 percent of the recruits were evaluated when the child was a year old, and nearly 80 percent were evaluated when they reached the age of five.
The pregnant recruits were asked about their use of Paracetamol drugs during pregnancy and its frequency. However exact doses could not be included since most mothers failed to recall them, according to Science Daily.
Mothers who regularly took the drug were 30 percent more likely to show autism spectrum symptoms in boys. The exposed children were at a higher risk of impulsivity or hyperactivity symptoms and showed poorer performance during a computerized test.
Mothers who took the painkiller while pregnant were more likely to birth boys on the autistic spectrum. Taking the drug while expecting was also associated with increased rates of ADHD in both sexes.
However, the study tested for symptoms and not for exact diagnoses, according to Claudia Avella-Garcia, lead author at CREAL and member of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. Avella-Garcia explains that an increased number of symptoms is enough to produce an effect on a child, even without a clinical diagnosis.
Paracetamol drugs can affect how neurons mature and connect with one another since they relieve pain by acting on cannaboid receptors. In addition, the drugs may also have an effect on the development of the immune system, according to Dr. Jordi Julvez, co-author of the study.
Guidelines regarding the intake of Paracetamol state that the drugs should only be taken by pregnant women when necessary for the shortest possible time, according to Daily Mail. Aside from being the first study to look at the association between the use of Paracetamol and autism spectrum symptoms, it is also the first study to show the different effects on both males and females. The authors of the study stressed that more studies should be done with more precise dosage measurements to determine the actual risk.
