Acetaminophen Litigation

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss various ideas about what causes the condition. 

If you listen to Sirius XM, you may have heard radio ads about a class action lawsuit alleging that acetaminophen causes it.

But there is a very long and growing list of other correlates, risk factors, and possible causes that have been the subject of serious studies:

Reuters:

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will meet today in St. Louis to consider creating nationwide MDLs for three fast-growing areas of product-liability litigation: social media addiction lawsuits, primarily against Facebook and Instagram’s parent Meta Platforms Inc; claims that acetaminophen use during pregnancy increases the child’s risk of autism-spectrum disorders and ADHD; and cases spurred by Exactech Inc’s recent recalls of many of its knee, ankle and hip-replacement products.

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MDL No. 3043 − IN RE: ACETAMINOPHEN − ASD/ADHD PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION Dozens of lawsuits have been filed in the past year, quoting recent studies that link pregnant women’s use of acetaminophen to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and ADHD in their children. In June, plaintiff Aujenai Thompson sought to consolidate 19 actions against the sellers of “store-brand” acetaminophen products for pretrial coordination or consolidation. Since then, more than 30 related actions have been filed, naming Costco Wholesale Corp, CVS Pharmacy Inc, Rite Aid Corp, Safeway, Target Corp, Walgreen Co and Walmart Inc as defendants.

Women Testing for Autism

In The Politics of Autism, I discuss gender differences in autism identification.

 Maya Oppenheim at The Independent:

Tens of thousands more women tested themselves for autism last year with numbers seeking tests now far outstripping men, new data shows.

Statistics seen by The Independent show around 150,000 women took an online test verified by health professionals to see if they have autism last year, up from about 49,000 in 2020.


Health professionals said the increase was a consequence of women not being diagnosed with the neurodevelopmental disorder as children and teens due to autism wrongly being viewed as a male disorder.


Experts told The Independent autistic women and girls are routinely overlooked and neglected by health services due to them being more likely to conceal or internalise symptoms.

Data from Clinical Partners, one of the UK’s leading mental health care providers which works closely with the NHS, shows women made up 56 per cent of those using their autism tests last year. This is substantially higher than the 46 per cent of women testing themselves for autism in 2020.