Overview
- The peer-reviewed analysis led by researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Aston University used electronic health records for 708,020 mother–child pairs to test whether prenatal paracetamol raises autism or ADHD risk.
- Using within‑mother sibling comparisons, the study found no increased risk of autism spectrum disorder or attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder across dose, trimester of exposure, or patterns of use.
- The paper, published in JAMA Internal Medicine on June 29, 2026, presents the null results as reassurance for clinicians and pregnant women who must weigh pain and fever treatment in pregnancy.
- A key limitation is that routine health records undercapture over‑the‑counter paracetamol, so a small residual uncertainty remains and direct exposure measurement would further reduce that gap.
- The sibling‑matched design controls for shared genetic and family factors that can bias ordinary cohort studies, and the result aligns with similar recent analyses from other research groups.