JAMA Pediatr

Maternal acetaminophen study finds no consistent link to child neurodevelopment

March 10, 2026

A large Taiwanese cohort study of 2 million singleton births found that associations between maternal acetaminophen prescriptions during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders in children became null in sibling‑matched analyses, suggesting unmeasured confounding. However, bidirectional sibling analyses revealed strikingly divergent results: when only the older sibling was exposed, there was a positive association with ADHD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17–1.52) and ASD (HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.29–2.36), whereas exposure only in the younger sibling showed a negative association with ADHD (HR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.67–0.84) and ASD (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57–0.96). These conflicting patterns persisted when examining higher acetaminophen use frequencies or higher mean daily doses, reinforcing concerns about residual bias and the inconclusive nature of the findings.

Clinical takeaway: Reassure patients that current evidence does not support a causal link between prenatal acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental disorders, and continue to guide use based on symptom severity and established safety principles.

Source:

Lee PC, et al. (2026, March 9). JAMA Pediatr. Maternal Acetaminophen Use and Child Neurodevelopment. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2845519