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Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

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Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#331
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

>Even if RFK Jr. provides ironclad scientific proof of this link they'll just deny it. As far as I know he is really well read/informed - most people are not in that league and such people are completely dismissive of anything that is counter-narrative.

As far as I know he's a crackpot who makes up random shit that has no basis in science. Sometimes that random shit is correct, because as we all know, a broken clock is correct twice a day.

Suggesting he's well-read and well-informed is laughable.

Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#332
post #164

There is research correlating autism and mothers taking certain medications (painkillers, antidepressants). Since autism is hereditary, there is a significant chance that these mothers are autistic too. Autistic people have a vastly high risk of depression, and often have unusual pain thresholds, requiring more painkillers. I would not be surprised of the correlation was real, but the direction of action was reversed…

> Since autism is hereditary Do you have a scientific source for this?

Twin studies are a classic demonstration of this: comparing identical twins to non-identical twins lets us prove a genetic component.

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=669...

Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Since autism is hereditary Do you have a scientific source for this?

Twin studies are a classic demonstration of this: comparing identical twins to non-identical twins lets us prove a genetic component. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=669...

Thanks but this is only one study and they even conclude that some non-genetic factors may also contribute to causing autism

There are many causes of autism. Research suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develops from a combination of:

Genetic influences and

Environmental influences, including social determinants

Source: https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-causes-autism

Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#335
post #164

There is research correlating autism and mothers taking certain medications (painkillers, antidepressants). Since autism is hereditary, there is a significant chance that these mothers are autistic too. Autistic people have a vastly high risk of depression, and often have unusual pain thresholds, requiring more painkillers. I would not be surprised of the correlation was real, but the direction of action was reversed…

According to my friend who is a geneticist, 30% of cases of autism can be found in DNA. Clearly not all cases are.

It's important to note our understanding is far from complete. There may be more genes associated with autism than we currently know. So 30% of cases may have a known genetic factor but that doesn't mean 70% don't have a genetic component.

Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a separate effect, known as acromelanism, or "point coloration". It's the result of an enzyme which is inactivated by higher temperatures, not a genetic change - the extent of pointing can change over an animal's lifetime, and the specific pattern isn't inherited. (For instance, if you somehow convinced a cat with color pointing to wear a sweater, its fur would stay light under that sweater, but any offspring…

A better example might be how some animals (turtles in particular) have their sex defined by their egg temperature

That isn't a genetic change either, though. Those species of turtle either lack the typical sex-determining chromosomes entirely, or have sex-determining chromosomes which can be inactivated during development. The genotype doesn't change as a result of what temperature the egg is incubated at; its expression does.

Further reading: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/07/210726102148.h...

Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#337

Here's the relevant study from earlier this year: https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/using-acetaminophen-during-pre... It's a meta-analysis that considered a bunch of individual studies, their effect size, and their quality. It claims that Tylenol use has increased alongside a 20-fold increase in autism rates, suggesting causation, and recommends immediate efforts to reduce Tylenol use during pregnancy. One objection that…

Admittedly I haven't read the whole study. But how do they account for the confirmation bias in their review – the fact that null results typically aren't published. Studies that look at an intervention (Tylenol) and fail to find an association are less likely to include it as a variable in their model or less likely to publish a null finding.

Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#338
Harvard study: the science is inconclusive and more research is needed.[1]

News outlets: no credible scientific evidence.

Uh oh spaghettios. The more the leftwing "resists" the more their "science" self-image will disconnect with reality. Like most things with this administration, I think that's the real goal.

[1] 14 August 2025 in BMC Environmental Health. 27 of 46 studies reported a positive association between prenatal acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD.

Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was my thought as well. I’m likely on the spectrum (as I have learned recently, because of my kids) and I would consider myself hypersensitive. To a variety of sensory inputs - noise, smell, touch, heat, cold, tickling and probably also pain. The latter being hard to quantify of course. But I could certainly imagine that a mother with autistic traits could be someone who takes painkillers more often than the ave…

It seems that higher sensitivity to pain could be a very plausible cause. I believe there's studies showing lowered (and altered) pain tolerance with autism. Though I'd expect that if aspirin did have an affect that it'd change the prevalence or severity of autism in children having genes related to autism. There'd be a first order correction fornthe likelihood that aspirin is causitive by controlling for increased i…

Aspirin???!! Its not mentioned in the OP. No one here mentioned it. WTF???!

Re: Kenvue stock drops on report RFK Jr will link autism to Tylenol during pregnancy

#340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twin studies are a classic demonstration of this: comparing identical twins to non-identical twins lets us prove a genetic component. https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=669...

Thanks but this is only one study and they even conclude that some non-genetic factors may also contribute to causing autism There are many causes of autism. Research suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develops from a combination of: Genetic influences and Environmental influences, including social determinants Source: https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-causes-autism

My link isn't a study it's a layman's terms explanation, but there are lots of studies. Your link mentions a meta analysis of 7 studies concluding that up to 90% is genetic.

Yes environmental factors are there too, otherwise it would be 100%, but there's enough evidence pointing to genetics that it is really disappointing when people try to find spurious links to false causes instead.

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