953 - Interpreting the Data on Tylenol, Pregnancy, and Autism

Update: 2025-09-29

Description

About this episode:

Does acetaminophen use during pregnancy cause autism in children? In this episode: Brian Lee, who led the largest study on acetaminophen use and neurodevelopmental outcomes, walks through the study's findings—as well as the challenges of researching the causal effects of medication use during pregnancy. Then, biostatistician Elizabeth Stuart discusses how she thinks about assessing potential cause-and-effect relationships when studies have different strengths and weaknesses.

Guest:

Brian Lee, PhD, MHS, is a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University.

Elizabeth Stuart, PhD, is Chair in the Department of Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she focuses on designing and interpreting studies exploring causal effects.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland’s Health Department.

Show links and related content:

Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability—JAMA
What the evidence tells us about Tylenol, leucovorin, and autism—STAT
Discovering How Environment Affects Autism—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine
Does A Really Cause B? How a Biostatistician Thinks About Causality—Public Health On Call (August 2024)

Transcript information:

Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.