AUTISM AND TYLENOL

But first, this government shutdown.  From the New York Times this morning:

• Each department identifies people critical to protecting life and property, and they keep working during a government shutdown. Think federal law enforcement officers, air traffic controllers and T.S.A. officers at airports.
• Not all agencies rely on appropriations for funding. That is why some government services continue uninterrupted. Mail is still delivered, and Social Security and Medicare payments continue. 
• Many of the people who keep the government running will be working without pay until the government reopens. Afterward, the law says, they must receive back wages.

Further:

• Big difference about whether a federal worker is furloughed or fired (same as layoff).
• If furloughed, you WILL get back pay for those days not at work when you return..
• If fired, you are fired.
• President Trump and Congressional members still get paid during a shutdown.
• This is the first stoppage since January 2019, when Trump was president.  Lasted for 35 days, the longest in history.
• The Congressional Budget Office estimated during last shutdown, around 750,000 employees were furloughed, costing the U.S. economy about $400 million each day they are out of work.
• Sure, if furloughed, you can be called back to work at any time. And yes, there is this period of financial uncertainty, with some in dire fiancial consequence if this closure goes on for more than a month.  But I think this is more like a free day/week/month off with pay.

I tend to focus on health and nutrition on Thursdays.  Thus, linking to the next topic, from Time magazine: 

On Sept. 22, President Donald Trump said that using Tylenol during pregnancy increases the risk of having a baby with autism, contradicting advice from leading obstetrics experts who say the popular drug is very safe in pregnancy.

• 
  Actually, while Trump did mouth the above, this link was made in a press conference with Secretary of Health and Human Resources Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Six months ago, RFJ Jr said....By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we'll be able to eliminate those exposures.

• 
  Thus the diagnosis that Tylenol use by pregnant women can lead to autistic births.
• Tylenol is the brand name under which acetaminophen is sold.  Other drugs that contain acetaminophen include Excedrin, Nyquil, Mucinex, Robitussin and Sudafed.

• 
  The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists was quick to dispute Trump’s claims, saying that there was no clear evidence linking the use of acetaminophen to autism or other risks to fetal development. Other pain- and fever-reducing medications, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, carry risks during pregnancy, and acetaminophen is the only over-the-counter drug approved to treat fevers during pregnancy.

• 
  Trump’s announcement “is not backed by the full body of scientific evidence and dangerously simplifies the many and complex causes of neurologic challenges in children,” said ACOG President Dr. Steven Fleischman in a statement. “It is highly unsettling that our federal health agencies are willing to make an announcement that will affect the health and well-being of millions of people without the backing of reliable data.”
• More specifically, the administration provided this recommendation based on a recent review, and this is what Trump said:

“Don’t take Tylenol. Fight like hell not to take it,” Trump said during a White House briefing.

• However:

Dr. Nathaniel DeNicola, an ob-gyn who advises ACOG on environmental health issues, says the problem with the review is that it was based on studies that were mostly poorly designed and therefore unreliable. “The studies that have claimed an association were so deeply flawed that you can’t draw any conclusion,” he says. 

Several studies, for example, relied on women’s memories to determine if and how much acetaminophen they took during their pregnancy. The women were asked to recall these details weeks, months, and in some cases years after the fact, DeNicola says. “Anyone who has been asked the question, ‘What did you have for lunch yesterday?’ knows that you tend to misremember things, even things from the recent past,” he says.

Higher quality studies—specifically a handful of them that have taken genetics into consideration—have shown no link between prenatal acetaminophen use and autism risk, DeNicola says. One such study, which was published in 2024 in JAMA, looked at the electronic medical records from nearly 2.5 million children who were born in Sweden between 1995 and 2019.

• 
  So what causes autism?

Researchers say there is no single cause to the range of conditions that fall under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder. Instead, experts believe that genetics together with myriad environmental factors—including maternal age and health and exposure to pollution and contaminants like heavy metals—play a role. 

• 
  According to Google AI, 3.2% of children suffered from autism spectrum disorder, translating to 2.5 million children in the U.S.
• Autism Speaks says:
• 1 in 31 children in the U.S. has autism, which was once 1 in 36, with 1 in 45 adults so diagnosed.  Thus, the incidence is growing.  Why?  Google AI says because of increased awareness and screening programs.
• 3.7% Blacks/Asian/American Indian and 2.7% White.
• Boys are 4 times more likely than girls, 4 in 100 to 1 in 100.
• World?  1 in 100.  But this is because of screening and difference in what is considered to be autistic.  There is no evidence that Americans are more autistic.
• However, life is not over with autism.  74% of autistic people in the U.S. graduate with a diploma, versus 86% of all students.
• Certainly, if you take Tylenol for whatever reason, don't worry about becoming autistic.  This is a joke, although there are many cases where adults are later in life diagnosed to be autistic.
• What causes autism?

-