Tylenol use in pregnancy may increase risk of ADHD children - JAMA Pediatrics

A  new study published in JAMA Pediatrics  suggests but does not conclude that women who took Tylenol (acetaminophen) have children with an elevated rate of ADHD.  Remarkably it is the most commonly used drug in pregnancy.  56% of the women in the cohort of 64,000 children and mothers in a Danish national registry.  The discovery of possible new adverse effects highlights the basic fact that mass marketing of drugs is a mass uncontrolled experiment.  It supports the argument I have long made that courts and regulators should impose a duty of active post-aproval surveillance on drug makers. - GWC

Washington (AFP) - Acetaminophen, a common pain reliever considered safe for pregnant women, has been linked for the first time to an increased risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in children, said a study Monday.
More studies are needed to confirm the findings, but experts said the research points to a new potential cause for the worldwide rise in cases of ADHD, a neuro-behavioral condition which has no known cause and affects as many as five percent of US children.Women who took acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, while pregnant had a 37 percent higher risk of having a child who would be later given a hospital diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorder, a particularly severe form of ADHD, said the study in February 24 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics.