Prenatal acetaminophen exposure linked to ADHD risk

By Anne Harding NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Children born to women who take acetaminophen during pregnancy may be at increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and similar behavioral problems, new findings suggest. The study does not show that prenatal exposure to the medication causes ADHD, and the increase in risk is small, Dr. Jorn Olsen, one of the study’s authors, told Reuters Health. Nevertheless, “it’s reasonable to say that there’s no reason to use these drugs during pregnancy unless there is a clear medical indication,” said Olsen, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA and at Aarhus University in Denmark. Acetaminophen, or paracetamol, has been available over the counter since the 1950s, Olsen and his colleagues note in their report in JAMA Pediatrics.