MHRA says no autism link to paracetamol use during pregnancy
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirms no evidence to support risk claims.
Paracetamol should be taken as directed in the patient information leaflet accompanying the medicine, according to MHRA, who have moved to debunk misleading claims about the treatment.
The MHRA confirmed taking paracetamol during pregnancy remains safe and there is no evidence it causes autism in children.
Dr Alison Cave, Chief Safety Officer at the MHRA, said: “Patient safety is our top priority. There is no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.
“Paracetamol remains the recommended pain relief option for pregnant women when used as directed. Pregnant women should continue to follow existing NHS guidance and speak to their healthcare professional if they have questions about any medication during pregnancy. Untreated pain and fever can pose risks to the unborn baby, so it is important to manage these symptoms with the recommended treatment.
“Our advice on medicines in pregnancy is based on rigorous assessment of the best available scientific evidence. Any new evidence that could affect our recommendations would be carefully evaluated by our independent scientific experts.
“We continuously monitor the safety of all medicines, including those used during pregnancy, through robust monitoring and surveillance. We encourage anyone to report any suspected side effects to us via the Yellow Card scheme.”
MHRA recommends paracetamol as the first-choice painkiller for pregnant women, used at the lowest dose and for the shortest duration. If pain does not resolve, then patients are advised to seek advice from their healthcare professional.
For more information see NHS Guidance on Pregnancy, breastfeeding and fertility while taking paracetamol for adults
Diabetes And Autism
DRWF recently announced plans to provide relevant and appropriate information to help diabetes management and improve diabetes outcomes for people with autism, in collaboration with Autek.
DRWF and Autek have partnered with the aim of understanding more about the intersection of autism and diabetes, both from a perspective of specific challenges faced by this group of people, and also from the perspective of what works? For example, once autistic people form a new routine around diet and exercise for diabetes, this becomes a lifelong change.
A statement from DRWF and Autek on the collaboration said: “Diabetes throws up some unique challenges for autistic people, ranging from food intolerances, skin sensitivity and needle phobia, monotropism leading to rigid routines, poor interoception whereby body signals around hunger and low blood glucose levels are missed, specific communication preferences, and aversion to social situations. And every autistic person is unique in the way that these affect them.
“The prevalence relationship between neurodivergence and diabetes is complex with larger studies tending to support an increased risk of diabetes for autistic people. For type 1 diabetes this may relate to autistic people being more prone to autoimmune diseases generally, and for type 2 diabetes it seems to relate to hereditary factors and food intolerances and dietary routines.
“There is not a lot of information focusing on managing diabetes for autistic people, with more available for type 1 than type 2 diabetes. Informally, discussions that Autek social researchers have with autistic people reveal that there are many challenges, sometimes life threatening, around adapting to life with diabetes for autistic people, and a paucity of information designed to help this group of people and their specific needs.
“We want to create some energy around this topic and to raise awareness of the additional challenges autistic people face with diabetes.”
DRWF is a UK registered charity that aims to provide information and support to promote good self-management and to enhance quality of life for people living with all types of diabetes.
Autek CIC is a lived-experience social enterprise that aims to support disabled and autistic people live their lives on their own terms, through the creation of videos, and are personally aware of the challenges that autistic people face following the onset of diabetes.
Read more about living with diabetes in the series of DRWF information leaflets.
DRWF will be exhibiting at this year’s Diabetes Professional Care event, in addition to hosting a presentation on autism and diabetes.
DRWF is looking forward to meeting healthcare professionals working in diabetes at the upcoming Diabetes Professional Care conference.
The annual event is this year held on 21-22 October at Olympia London.
Diabetes Professional Care brings together more than 3,000 healthcare professionals, as the UK's leading event for the entire multi-disciplinary team involved in preventing, treating and managing diabetes and its related conditions.
We will present a speaker session entitled ‘Autism and Diabetes – unique challenges and solutions’ on 22nd October in Theatre C from 3pm–3 .45pm.
Registration is live for Diabetes Professional Care 2025 and the event is free to attend for registered healthcare professionals, allied healthcare professionals, and Other Relevant Decision Makers (ORDMs) working for the NHS or in a private healthcare setting.
For registration and more information about Diabetes Professional Care click here
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