r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Feb 21 '25

Neuroscience The risk of developing ADHD was 3 times higher among children whose mothers used the pain-relief drug acetaminophen (paracetamol) during pregnancy. The association was stronger among daughters, with the daughters of acetaminophen-exposed mothers showing a 6.16 times higher likelihood of ADHD.

https://newsroom.uw.edu/news-releases/child-adhd-risk-linked-to-mothers-use-of-acetaminophen
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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '25

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u/YellowPuffin2 Feb 21 '25

So one thing to keep in mind is that this study says up to 70% of women take acetaminophen during their pregnancies. 70% of children do not have ADHD. Increasing the risk of developing ADHD is not the same as your child will get ADHD if you use acetaminophen. I don’t think this study supports that a small exposure will dramatically increase your risk. The most likely outcome is that your child won’t have ADHD.