Meta-Analysis Debunks the Tylenol Idea

 A number of posts have discussed Trump's support for discredited notions about autism. The Sept 22, 2025, White House news conference was a firehose of lies. The next month, he posted an unfounded warning about Tylenol.  RFK then tiptoed away from the idea that it definitely causes autism.  A BMJ lit review debunked the idea. A Lancet review did likewise.

Tayebi-Hillali H, Blanco-Suárez M, Rivas-Mundiña B, Limeres-Posse J, Diniz-Freitas M, Diz-Dios P. Prenatal exposure to paracetamol and the risk of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: An umbrella review and meta-meta-analysis. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2026; 00: 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.70512

Abstract

Aim

To evaluate whether prenatal exposure to paracetamol (acetaminophen) is associated with an increased risk of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring, using a meta-meta-analytical (umbrella review) approach.
Method

We conducted a registered umbrella review (PROSPERO CRD420251243790) of systematic reviews with meta-analyses assessing prenatal paracetamol exposure and autism or ADHD. Searches were performed in six major databases up to November 2025. Methodological quality was appraised using AMSTAR-2, and overlap of primary studies was quantified using the corrected covered area. Random-effects meta-meta-analyses were performed for unrestricted, partially quality-restricted, and fully quality-restricted models. When overlap was high, additional meta-analyses of low-risk primary studies were conducted, with risk of bias assessed using ROBINS-E.
Results

Seven meta-analyses were included, encompassing more than 3 million participants. Unrestricted meta-meta-analyses showed small positive associations between prenatal paracetamol exposure and both autism (risk ratio 1.17) and ADHD (risk ratio 1.29). However, after restricting analyses to higher-quality meta-analyses and low-risk primary studies, effect estimates were substantially attenuated and, in several models, approached the null. High heterogeneity and substantial overlap were observed, particularly in analyses of primary studies.
Interpretation

The observed associations between prenatal paracetamol exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders are probably influenced by methodological limitations, including residual confounding and exposure misclassification. Current epidemiological evidence does not support a robust causal relationship, and paracetamol remains an appropriate first-line treatment during pregnancy when clinically indicated.

Graphical Abstract

This meta-meta-analysis synthesizes evidence on prenatal paracetamol exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Crude analyses suggest small associations with autism and ADHD, but these attenuate substantially when restricting to high-quality meta-analyses and low-bias primary studies. Overall, the findings indicate a lack of robust epidemiological evidence supporting a causal association.

IACC: Bad Stuff

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee and research priorities.

Ed Pilkington at The Guardian:

Autism groups and researchers have reacted with alarm to a federal research roadmap drawn up by advisers handpicked by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, fearing it will promote unproven fringe therapies at the expense of promising genetic research.

A slew of scientific bodies and groups within the autism community are warning that the 336-page plan risks deflecting federal dollars away from potentially groundbreaking genetic research in favor of unreliable alternative therapies.

There is little or no evidence, they say, that many of the proposed treatments work, or that they even fit the definition of autism.

“So much of the plan is fringe science that is absolutely not ready for prime time,” said Helen Tager-Flusberg, an emeritus professor at Boston University and founder of the Coalition of Autism Scientists.

Alliances of autistic people are especially worried that the plan could make it easier for them to be sent to institutions. The plan calls for government agencies to try out “supported-living models” such as “farmstead or campus-based communities”, which the groups fear could revive forms of institutional confinement.

The strategic plan is the work of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), a body that for 25 years has advised US health secretaries on federal efforts related to autism.

Alison Singer at MedpageToday:

Parents report that children with autism lose skills at all ages, including during toddlerhood, and through adolescence into adulthood. The new plan puts considerable emphasis on finding medical causes of early childhood regression (immune, metabolic, mitochondrial, infectious, gastrointestinal) but does not give comparable prominence to regression as a manifestation of the underlying genetics and neurodevelopmental biology of autism itself.

We can read between the lines. Committee members' comments make clear that this framing is intended to justify further research into vaccines as a cause of autism, despite decades of research and dozens of studies finding no causal link between vaccines and autism.

Also, despite a significant number of public comments calling for substantial revisions to the plan, and the fact that thousands of pages of public comments were not distributed to committee members until the night before the meeting, the IACC chair completely shut down efforts by committee members to delay voting on the plan until all the comments could be read and considered.

 

Kinda Like OJ's Search for "the Real Killers"

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition.  Dozens of potential causes and correlates have been the subject of scientific and medical research.  I have counted at least 48.

Amanda Seitz and Stephanie Armour at CBS:

President Trump has ordered a reduction in childhood vaccines — publicly faulting the shots for an increase in autism cases — even as the nation's top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has failed to produce evidence linking vaccinations to the disorder.

While the executive order released Aug. 10 does not directly mention autism, Mr. Trump's demand to limit vaccine recommendations has puzzled leading medical groups, doctors, and political analysts alike. The directive landed less than 90 days before midterm elections, which Mr. Trump's own pollsters have warned could be jeopardized by anti-vaccine rhetoric.

"The political timing, particularly for members on the Republican side in swing districts, is not good," said Larry Bucshon, a former Republican congressman and retired doctor.

Mr. Trump's willingness to gamble on the issue underscores the president's impatience for his health secretary to deliver on a promise that he'd pinpoint a culprit for the sharp rise in autism diagnoses.

After more than a year, Kennedy and his close, anti-vaccine allies have blown past a deadline to turn up definitive answers in a multimillion-dollar research mission shrouded in secrecy, leaving the president to recycle debunked notions as he publicly assaults vaccines.

"This is about the most closed project that I've ever heard of," Helen Tager-Flusberg, a renowned psychologist who runs the Coalition of Autism Scientists, said of Kennedy's autism research efforts. "They're treating it like the Manhattan Project in the 1940s. This is as opaque as it could possibly be."

Leucovorin Spike

A number of posts discussed Trump's support for dubious notions about autism.

The history of autism "cures" is a history of dashed hopes and frequent danger

A release from the University of Michigan:

Leucovorin prescriptions for children spiked after federal officials claimed the drug was an effective treatment for autism during a September 2025 press conference, according to a new Michigan Medicine-led study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

During the highly publicized event, the United States Department of Health and Human Services announced a plan to update leucovorin’s label to include cerebral folate deficiency, a rare genetic condition that can sometimes include symptoms of autism.

At the same time, federal officials also touted leucovorin’s effectiveness for autism, despite limited evidence supporting that claim.

After the press conference, the number of children aged 0-17 with a filled leucovorin prescription increased 46%, from 4.6 children per 100,000 in the week before the conference to 6.7 per 100,000 during the week of the conference, according to the new research.

"Our findings suggest the press conference may have increased off-label prescribing of leucovorin to children with autism,” said lead author Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatrician and researcher at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and director of the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center.

"This increase is concerning because the effectiveness and long-term safety of leucovorin for children with autism is uncertain."

The authors analyzed a database representing nearly all prescriptions filled in U.S. retail pharmacies.

During 2025, the database included 150,026 leucovorin prescriptions dispensed to 47,394 children.

The weekly number of children with filled leucovorin prescriptions rose from 734 to 5,858 children between the beginning and end of 2025 – a 700% jump.

Much of this increase was driven by the spike in leucovorin dispensing after the press conference, and the largest increases were seen among children ages 6 to 11 and in the southern United States.

By comparison, leucovorin dispensing to adults did not spike after the press conference.

Leucovorin, a decades-old version of Vitamin B9, has mainly been used to counter side effects from methotrexate, a drug used in treating cancer and autoimmune conditions.

A handful of small studies have suggested that leucovorin can help improve some autism symptoms in children, but large randomized clinical trials have not been conducted.

By using a comprehensive national database, the new study builds on earlier research that used smaller databases to assess changes in leucovorin prescribing to children after the press conference.

Concerns about increased off-label use

The new research also showed that there was an increase in leucovorin dispensing to children even before the press conference.

The trend may have been driven by national news coverage featuring compelling patient stories that may have increased interest among some families.

Chua says the rise in leucovorin use among children raises several concerns, including the potential to create false hope for families, displace evidence-based therapies and expose young children to a treatment whose effectiveness and long term safety have not been established.

Other researchers have speculated that increased off-label prescribing of leucovorin may have contributed to ongoing drug shortages that have reduced access for cancer patients who depend on the medication.

"Our findings demonstrate the power of the federal government to influence medical practice," Chua said.

"Given this power, it is important that the government’s messaging about medications is based on rigorous evidence.”

Additional authors: Sijia He, M.S. and Rena M. Conti, Ph.D.

Study Cited: "Leucovorin Dispensing to U.S. Children in 2025,” NEJM.

No Link to Circumcision

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition.  RFK Jr. connected circumcision to autism on the grounds that parents often give their kids Tylenol after the bris.  He was talking nonsense.

McGrath M, Li X, Jacobson LP, et al. Neonatal Medical Male Circumcision and Child Autism Diagnosis. JAMA Pediatr. Published online August 03, 2026. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.3239

Key Points

Questions Is neonatal medical male circumcision (NMC) associated with child autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism-related traits and behaviors?

Findings In this cohort study of 2771 male children from 14 cohort sites in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort, NMC was not associated with ASD diagnosis or autism-related traits and behaviors. These findings were robust after stratification by geographic region, preterm birth, and neonatal intensive care unit admission status; additionally, acetaminophen use during the procedure or in the neonatal period was uncommon (<5%).

Meaning This study found no evidence that NMC is associated with an increased risk of ASD, which may provide reassurance for families who are considering or have elected NMC for their child.

RFK: Still Antivax

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

Washington Post editorial:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his allies at the Department of Health and Human Services have quieted their efforts to restrict access to immunizations after realizing they were politically disastrous. But that doesn’t mean they stopped trying to undermine these lifesaving tools.

 In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention halted the publication of a study showing that last year’s covid-19 shot cut the risk of emergency department visits and hospitalizations in half among healthy adults, even though the findings cleared the agency’s scientific review process. That’s because Jay Bhattacharya, the agency’s interim director, objected to the study’s methodology, which he called “crap” and “logistically ridiculous.”

One of the nation’s top medical journals disagrees with his assessment. This week, JAMA Network Open published the rejected study, which was peer-reviewed. The journal also published commentary by Natalie Dean, a public health professor at Emory University, who explained that the study’s design, which involved comparing the test results of vaccinated and unvaccinated people who seek medical care at hospitals, had been used for decades to measure the effectiveness of shots.

The point here is not that the methodology is flawless; Dean and other vaccine researchers readily admit that it’s imperfect. The problem is that the administration tried to bury scientific evidence that contradicted Kennedy’s criticisms of covid vaccines.

The drama is playing out just as Kennedy is actively defending anti-vaccine research that was retracted in April over concerns of “serious methodological flaws.” The paper, published in Toxicology Reports, purported to find that 75 percent of sudden infant death syndrome cases occurred within seven days of vaccination, but critics found potential research errors and argued that its author misused data to suggest causality, leading its publisher to take it down.

Last week, Kennedy sent a letter to the journal’s editor in chief, demanding a “full explanation” for that retraction. This, Kennedy claimed in a social media post, would help “restore trust in public health by insisting on transparency, accountability, and open scientific inquiry — not by asking the public to accept decisions behind closed doors.”

That’s ironic, given that Kennedy and his underlings are attempting to reshape federal vaccine guidelines behind the scenes. The Post’s Rachel Roubein and Lena H. Sun report that researchers at the National Institutes of Health are being pushed to conduct research on vaccine injuries and alternative vaccine schedules, as well as toying with a plan to create a new science office at the CDC that would report to political staff.

Despite these efforts, most Americans remain solidly in favor of vaccines. But the growing case numbers of vaccine-preventable diseases show it doesn’t take many skeptics to weaken their effectiveness

Retraction Update

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

 Judy George at MedPage Today:

A 2010 paper that linked hepatitis B vaccines in infant boys to an increased risk of autism diagnosis was retracted and another study by the same authors is under investigation.

The study, published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, claimed that boys vaccinated as neonates had a three times higher odds of an autism diagnosis compared with boys vaccinated after their first month of life or not at all.

The paper was included in a safety review of hepatitis B birth vaccination alongside work from David Geier and presented to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at their meeting on December 4, the day before the committee voted to drop the agency's long-standing recommendation that every newborn receive a hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
...
The neonate paper was retracted because "concerns were raised regarding the methodology of the study and the reported conclusions," according to a notice from the journal's editor and publisher.

The journal contacted Gallagher and Goodman for an explanation and engaged an independent reviewer for a post-publication statistical review. The reviewer concluded that the study's conclusions were unsound "due to fundamental methodological flaws," leading the journal to retract the article. Gallagher and Goodman did not agree with the retraction.

The study had multiple flaws, noted David Mandell, ScD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, who was not involved in either the research or the journal's retraction decision.

These shortcomings led to "spurious findings based on a tiny group of children," said Mandell, a member of the Coalition of Autism Scientists, a group of autism researchers. "They speak to the need to radically reform the peer review process so that all science is reviewed with a keener eye."

AMA v. RFK

In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

 Simon J. Levien at POLITICO:

American doctors want their leading lobby to drop its nice guy routine with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

At the American Medical Association’s annual meeting this week, members of the group’s House of Delegates are sending a clear message to their leaders: Call out Kennedy, even if it costs us in the pocketbook.

That message was stated most clearly in the election of Sandra Fryhofer, an internist from Atlanta and uncompromising Kennedy critic, as AMA president-elect. She beat Michael Suk, who as AMA board chair in 2024 and 2025 prioritized doctors’ Medicare fees and promised continued pragmatism in dealing with Kennedy.


Fryhofer, who advised the vaccine committee whose members Kennedy fired last year, suggested that would be an abdication of doctors’ moral duty.

“Measles running rampant, public health destroyed, a trillion dollars ripped from Medicaid, inadequate physician payment, stupid immigration rules,” Fryhofer told AMA members in promising to call out Kennedy and the Trump administration on all of it.

In two dozen interviews this week, AMA doctors described an advocacy organization at its wit’s end with Kennedy. POLITICO granted them anonymity to describe internal dynamics. Long a Republican-leaning constituency, doctors began shifting left during the battles over managed care three decades ago. President Donald Trump’s alliance with Kennedy, a longtime skeptic of vaccine safety and critic of the medical establishment, was the last straw for many.

Study Finds No Link to Common Antidepressants

  In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition.  Dozens of potential causes and correlates have been the subject of scientific and medical research.

Chan J, Zhong A, Lam J et al.

Maternal and paternal antidepressant use before and during pregnancy and offspring risk of neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The Lancet Psychiatry, 13, 472-484

A release from The Lancet Psychiatry:

• Meta-analysis of 37 studies totalling more than half a million pregnancies with antidepressant use found no significant link between common antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism/ADHD in children after adjusting for the mother’s mental health and other factors.
• Before accounting for confounding factors, the study found a small association between antidepressant use during pregnancy and autism or ADHD in children. However, this link was also seen with antidepressant use in mothers before conception and in fathers during pregnancy, suggesting the association reflects parental mental health and genetics rather than the medication itself.
• Authors say doctors and patients should weigh the benefit and risks of antidepressant use for moderate to severe depression in pregnancy with the potential harms of a depression relapse. They highlight that supporting good mental health for both mothers and fathers is beneficial for a child’s neurodevelopment.

Current evidence does not support a causal link between the use of almost all antidepressants during pregnancy and an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in children, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

Previous meta-analyses looking at the use of antidepressants during pregnancy and risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children were conducted nearly a decade ago and limited by small study numbers and a lack of controlling for additional factors. This new meta-analysis provides the best evidence to date that the small increase in risk of autism or ADHD in the children of women who used antidepressants when pregnant identified in many studies is not caused by the medication.




“We know many parents-to-be worry about the potential impact of taking medication during pregnancy; our study provides reassuring evidence that commonly used antidepressants do not increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and ADHD in children. While all medications carry risks, so too does stopping antidepressants during pregnancy due to an increased risk of relapse. Therefore, for women with moderate-severe depression, doctors and patients must carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits of continuing antidepressant treatment during pregnancy against the potential harms of untreated depression,” says author Dr Wing-Chung Chang, University of Hong Kong.

He continues, “Although our study found a small increase in the risk of autism and ADHD in the children of women who had used antidepressants during pregnancy, it also found that this risk disappeared when we accounted for other factors. The increased risk was also seen in the children of fathers who took antidepressants and of mothers with antidepressant use before, but not during, pregnancy. Together, this suggests that it is not the antidepressants themselves causing an increased risk in autism and ADHD but it is more likely to be due to other factors, including genetic predisposition to conditions such as ADHD, autism, and mental health conditions.”

Authors pooled data from 37 studies which included more than 600,000 pregnant women taking antidepressants and almost 25 million pregnancies with no antidepressant use.

Before controlling for key factors such as mental health conditions, the analysis found that antidepressant use by the mother during pregnancy was associated with a 35% increased risk of ADHD and a 69% increased risk of autism. However, this became greatly reduced or non-significant in analyses that better controlled for confounding factors. Use of antidepressants during pregnancy by the father was associated with a 46% increase in the risk of ADHD and a 28% increase in the risk of autism.

Among studies with analyses restricted to mothers with mental health disorders, all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were found to not be associated, only amitriptyline/nortriptyline remained associated with increased ADHD and autism risk. Amitriptyline/nortriptyline are currently considered second or third options as treatments for depression and are often prescribed for treatment-resistant depression. Therefore, women treated with these may have more severe, chronic, or complex underlying mental health conditions than those receiving more common antidepressants, which could be influencing the association between amitriptyline/nortriptyline and increased ADHD and autism risk.

The study found no difference in risk between high and low doses of antidepressants.

“The evidence suggests a link between either parent having a mental health condition and a slightly higher risk of ADHD or autism. In addition to genetic factors, this link could be explained by the home and social environment as ongoing family stress, changes in how the family functions, and differences in how parents behave and care for their children may influence neurodevelopment. There is a need to ensure both parents have access to support and treatment for mental health conditions; for their own sake and to support neurodevelopment of their child," says Dr. Joe Kwun-Nam Chan, University of Hong Kong.

The researchers note some limitations of their study, including that data on important factors such as socioeconomic status, lifestyle risk factors and low birth weight was lacking in the studies. Additionally, there was only a small number of studies looking at antidepressant use in specific trimesters or exact doses and dose changes, which makes it harder to draw conclusions about these. Finally, women who are prescribed antidepressants tend to have more severe depression than those who are not, so some bias may remain even after controlling for mental health status.

Writing in a linked Comment, Lisa Vitte, Emmanuel Devouche and Gisele Apter from University Rouen Normandy (France), who were not involved in the study, say, “Chang and colleagues’ study adds knowledge and confirms some of the pre-existing knowledge on the use of antidepressants during pregnancy: that they should continue to be taken as they protect maternal mental health and do not harm fetal development. This result is of considerable impact after many contradictory and controversial studies.

Yet Another Potential Correlate: Maternal Occupation History

 In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition.  Dozens of potential causes and correlates have been the subject of scientific and medical research.

Dickerson AS, Liu Y, Ladd-Acosta C, et al Associations between maternal occupational history and autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in offspring in Denmark Occupational and Environmental Medicine Published Online First: 12 May 2026. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2026-110912

Abstract

Objectives We investigated associations between maternal occupations and a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring.

Methods We obtained data for 1702 ASD cases born between 1973 and 2012 from the Danish National Patient Registry and matched each case to up to 100 population based controls based on sex and birth year (n=110 234). Mothers’ employment histories were obtained from the Danish Pension Fund Registry. Conditional logistic regression models were used to test associations between occupations held ever, 1 year before conception, during pregnancy and during infancy, adjusting for the mother’s age and history of neuropsychiatric disorders, parity and residential location.

Results There were increased odds of having a child with ASD for mothers who were employed before conception up to infancy in ground transportation (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.24, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.42; q=0.036), public administration (aOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.35; q=0.018) and military/defence occupations (aOR 1.59, 95% CI 1.39 to 1.82; q<0.001). Associations for judicial occupations and military/defence service were also apparent 1 year before conception and during pregnancy. We observed sex differences, with significant associations in male children for employment in ground transportation and defence occupations.

Conclusions Associations between certain maternal employment categories with high toxicant or psychosocial stress exposure suggest future studies should focus on examining specific toxicant exposures common in those occupations and neurodevelopment in offspring. This is of particular concern for associations seen for occupations held several years before conception.

A partial list of other potential causes and correlates: 

1. Inflammatory bowel disease
2. Pesticides
3. Air pollution and proximity to freeways
4. Maternal thyroid issues
5. Autoimmune disorders
6. Induced labor
7. Preterm birth
8. Fever  
9. Birth by cesarean section;
10. Anesthesia during cesarean sections
11. Maternal and paternal obesity
12. Maternal diabetes
13. Maternal and paternal age
14. Grandparental age
15. Maternal post-traumatic stress disorder
16. Maternal anorexia
17. Smoking during pregnancy
18. Cannabis use during pregnancy
19. Antidepressant use during pregnancy
20. Polycystic ovary syndrome
21. Infant opioid withdrawal
22. Zinc deficiency
23. Sulfate deficiency
24. Processed foods
25. Maternal occupational exposure to solvents
26. Congenital heart disease
27. Insufficient placental allopregnanolone
28. Estrogen in the womb
29. Morning sickness;
30. Paternal family history
31. Parental preterm birth
32. Antiseizure meds
33. Location of forebears
34. Lithium
35. Aspartame
36. BPA
37. Brain inflammation
38. Maternal asthma
39. Infertility
40. Ultraprocessed foods
41. Household chemicals
42. Parental psychiatric disorders
43. Fluoride
44. Fatty acids in umbilical cord blood
45. Maternal inflammation during pregnancy
46. COVID-19
47. Wildfire smoke
48.  Sterol biosynthesis–inhibiting medications (SBIMs)

Aluminum in Vaccines Not Linked to Autism

  In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread.    Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.  A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.

 Liz Szabo at CIDRAP:

Aluminum additives used in vaccines are not linked to serious medical problems or long-term conditions in children, according to a report published today in The BMJ. In particular, researchers found no increased risk of asthma, autism, or autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes.

The analysis, which included 59 studies conducted over many years, adds to a large body of research finding no ties between aluminum in childhood vaccines and serious health problems, including a 24-year study of more than 1.2 million Danish children published last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“The evidence shows that vaccines containing aluminum are safe,” said Joseline Zafack, MD, PhD, MPH, senior author of the study and an epidemiologist at the Centre for Immunization Surveillance and Programs at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
...
Anti-vaccine activists, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have attacked the use of aluminum in vaccines for years.

Kennedy, an attorney who has made millions of dollars working with a law firm suing a vaccine manufacturer, last year called for the Annals of Internal Medicine to retract the 2025 Danish study that found no link between aluminum in vaccines and autism. The journal’s editors refused.

There’s no reason to suspect aluminum as a cause of autism, Hotez said.

“This is what they do,” Hotez said. “It’s just made up."

Dozens of studies have consistently found no link between vaccines and autism or other serious illnesses. But vaccines have saved more than 150 million lives over the past 50 years, according to the World Health Organization.

Sterol Biosynthesis–Inhibiting Medications (SBIMs)

  In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition.  Dozens of potential causes and correlates have been the subject of scientific and medical research.

A release from the University of Nebraska Medical Center:

A landmark study led by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and published in Molecular Psychiatry has identified a significant association between prenatal prescription of commonly utilized medications and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children.

Analyzing 6.14 million maternal-child health records from the Epic Cosmos database—representing nearly one-third of all U.S. births between 2014 and 2023—the team found that prescription of medications known to inhibit the cholesterol synthesis pathway were consistently associated with higher rates of ASD in offspring.

While previous studies grouped medications by their indications, the UNMC team grouped prescribed medications together based on common effects and side effects on sterol biosynthesis.

These sterol biosynthesis–inhibiting medications (SBIMs) include certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, beta-blockers and statins. These are the generic names of the 14 medications studied: aripiprazole, atorvastatin, bupropion, buspirone, fluoxetine, haloperidol, metoprolol, nebivolol, pravastatin, propranolol, rosuvastatin, sertraline, simvastatin and trazodone. Many of these are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States, accounting for more than 400 million annual prescriptions.

... 

Publication details

Eric S. Peeples et al, Sterol pathway disruption in pregnancy: a link to autism, Molecular Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41380-026-03610-7 Journal information: Molecular Psychiatry

A partial list of other potential causes and correlates: 

1. Inflammatory bowel disease
2. Pesticides
3. Air pollution and proximity to freeways
4. Maternal thyroid issues
5. Autoimmune disorders
6. Induced labor
7. Preterm birth
8. Fever  
9. Birth by cesarean section;
10. Anesthesia during cesarean sections
11. Maternal and paternal obesity
12. Maternal diabetes
13. Maternal and paternal age
14. Grandparental age
15. Maternal post-traumatic stress disorder
16. Maternal anorexia
17. Smoking during pregnancy
18. Cannabis use during pregnancy
19. Antidepressant use during pregnancy
20. Polycystic ovary syndrome
21. Infant opioid withdrawal
22. Zinc deficiency
23. Sulfate deficiency
24. Processed foods
25. Maternal occupational exposure to solvents
26. Congenital heart disease
27. Insufficient placental allopregnanolone
28. Estrogen in the womb
29. Morning sickness;
30. Paternal family history
31. Parental preterm birth
32. Antiseizure meds
33. Location of forebears
34. Lithium
35. Aspartame
36. BPA
37. Brain inflammation
38. Maternal asthma
39. Infertility
40. Ultraprocessed foods
41. Household chemicals
42. Parental psychiatric disorders
43. Fluoride
44. Fatty acids in umbilical cord blood
45. Maternal inflammation during pregnancy
46. COVID-19
47. Wildfire smoke