Common OTC drug in pregnancy associated with ADHD in children: study

Waiting mothers may want to think twice the next time they are in the pharmacy.

Disorder of attention/hyperactivity deficit is a common behavior state affecting approximately 7 million American children, including about one million children diagnosed since 2016.

The reason for the latest increase in diagnoses is in debate – a new study in the journal Nature Health Health suggests that the culprit may be in your medicine cabinet.

Researchers analyzed blood samples from 307 pregnant women between 2006 and 2011 and found that children born for mothers who used acetaminophen during pregnancy had an 18% prevalence of ADHD, compared to 9% in children whose mothers did not relieve over -Counter pain.

In particular, the likelihood of an ADHD diagnosis were more than three times larger in children whose mothers had detectable levels of acetaminophen in their blood.

Even more extraordinary is that the girls were six times more likely to develop ADHD if the mother used acetaminophen during pregnancy, while the effect was less pronounced among boys.

Acetaminophen treats fever, headaches, muscle aches and menstrual cramps.

It is the main active ingredient in Tylenol, which is usually described to mothers pending to facilitate discomfort.

About 40% to 60% of pregnant women receive tylenol at a point of their pregnancy.

While the drug is generally considered safe to use during pregnancy, the author of the main study Brennan Baker, a researcher at the Seattle Child Research Institute, noted that previous research relied on self-reported data, which may not accurately reflect the use of acetaminophen.

“This drug was also approved decades ago and may need a reassessment from the FDA,” said co -author Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a pediatrician in Scri. “Acetaminophen was never appreciated for fetal exposures regarding the long-term impacts of neuro-development.”

Previous research on the possible link between the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and ADHD have produced mixed results. For example, a major Swedish study found no connection, while Norwegian research identified a link.

In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration said studies on the security of the use of Tylenol while they were pregnant “very limited to making recommendations”.

But the agency recommended that pregnant women seek advice from their doctor before taking tylenol.

“Due to this uncertainty, the use of pain medication during pregnancy should be considered carefully,” the FDA statement said. “We encourage pregnant women to always discuss all the medicines with their health care professionals before using them.”