# Is Autism caused by Tylenol? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932 "2018-04-23T02:11:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/1 "2018-04-23T02:11:55Z")
According to Dr. John Gray (the Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus guy), Cuba has the same kind of Immunization schedule for children as the US, yet has a low incidence of Autism due to one vital difference…cuban children are not given a dose of tylenol to alleviate the fever from the immunization. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NZcSJyGrd-s/hqdefault.jpg "Dr. John Gray and The Mars and Venus Wellness Solution") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZcSJyGrd-s) Begin at time index 2:07:40 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/2 "2018-04-23T02:18:32Z")
ISTM that saying the only differnce between Cubans and Americans is that they don’t take tylenol to break immunization induced fevers and that’s why they don’t have as many Autistic kids as the US, has at least one false premise, at least one incorrect assumption and at least one giant leap in logic. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/3 "2018-04-23T02:23:16Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > According to Dr. John Gray (the Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus guy), Cuba has the same kind of Immunization schedule for children as the US, yet has a low incidence of Autism due to one vital difference…cuban children are not given a dose of tylenol to alleviate the fever from the immunization. Is that the only difference between Cuban children and children in the US? VACCINES DON’T CAUSE AUTISM. [New Meta-analysis Confirms: No Association between Vaccines and Autism](https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/new-meta-analysis-confirms-no-association-between-vaccines-and-autism) > [@](#): > > A meta-analysis of ten studies involving more than 1.2 million children reaffirms that vaccines don’t cause autism. If anything, immunization was associated with decreased risk that children would develop autism, a possibility that’s strongest with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/4 "2018-04-23T02:33:20Z")
Not the vaccine…the tylenol to stop the fever. Apparently, you got to let the body cook that virus out of the system…it is a vital procedure that needs to be seen through to the end, naturally. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/5 "2018-04-23T02:38:28Z")
Researchers have found evidence that it’s already detectable in the womb, so probably not due to giving the baby Tylenol. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/6 "2018-04-23T02:42:49Z")
Is there a higher rate of autism with certain races; are white children in the U.S. disproportionately representative of the autistic population? How do they stack up compared to Hispanic children in the U.S.? ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/7 "2018-04-23T02:43:50Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Researchers have found evidence that it’s already detectable in the womb, so probably not due to giving the baby Tylenol. Everything I have ever read about diagnosing autism says that there is no medical test for it and that it’s diagnosed based on behavior. How does that work in the womb? ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/8 "2018-04-23T03:55:25Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > Everything I have ever read about diagnosing autism says that there is no medical test for it and that it’s diagnosed based on behavior. How does that work in the womb? It’s obviously not fully understood, but lots of data is emerging showing that the issues probably start in the womb. Postmortem brain tissue analysis showing incorrect brain development in some areas. > **[Autism begins in the womb, according to a new study](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/274655)** > > Two new studies on the origins of autism debate the influence of environmental pollutants and brain defects occurring in the womb. Here’s another showing connection to amniotic fluid: > **[Autistic boys exposed to higher levels of hormones in womb, study finds](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/03/boys-with-autism-likely-exposed-to-more-hormones-in-the-womb)** > > Study of amniotic fluid shows boys with autism had raised levels of testosterone, cortisol and other hormones in the womb “Boys diagnosed with autism and related disorders had, on average, raised levels of testosterone, cortisol and other hormones in the womb, according to analyses of amniotic fluid that was stored after their mothers had medical tests during pregnancy.” Here’s another with brain scans showing differences: [https://www.nature.com/news/brain-scans-spot-early-signs-of-autism-in-high-risk-babies-1.21484](https://www.nature.com/news/brain-scans-spot-early-signs-of-autism-in-high-risk-babies-1.21484) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/9 "2018-04-23T04:15:26Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Not the vaccine…the tylenol to stop the fever. > Apparently, you got to let the body cook that virus out of the system…it is a vital procedure that needs to be seen through to the end, naturally. No. The point is: getting vaccinated (the whole process, including any Tylenol) doesn’t cause autism. So, the Tylenol connection is BS. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/10 "2018-04-23T04:17:39Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Not the vaccine…the tylenol to stop the fever. > Apparently, you got to let the body cook that virus out of the system…it is a vital procedure that needs to be seen through to the end, naturally. Speaking as a PhD biologist and medical geneticist, this is complete and utter horseshit. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/11 "2018-04-23T04:35:19Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Is there a higher rate of autism with certain races; are white children in the U.S. disproportionately representative of the autistic population? How do they stack up compared to Hispanic children in the U.S.? Until about the year 2000, it seemed that ADHD only occurred in white children from low-income families. :dubious: Children, and adults too, have to present for evaluation before they can be diagnosed. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/12 "2018-04-23T04:39:07Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Apparently, you got to let the body cook that virus out of the system…it is a vital procedure that needs to be seen through to the end, naturally. Everyone wants an in-depth debunking. They’re fun to read and fun to write. Everyone wants someone to go up the ass of some false claim, or system of false claims, to ferret out exactly how the whole thing falls down. What’s more, people seem to assume that there’s some nugget of truth there, a gem hidden away in the mountain of shit. People seem resistant to the idea that something which looks like pure shit could be pure shit. Well, this is pure shit. There’s nothing there: It’s a statement so divorced from reality the only proper response is to say that it is completely wrong. It is completely wrong. There is nothing else to say about that statement. As for the broader claim, the existing research debunks it as well: If two things, such as getting a shot and getting Tylenol, always or almost always occur together, the statement that some other thing doesn’t correlate with one of those things, such as getting a shot, means it _also_ doesn’t correlate with the other thing, such as getting Tylenol. That follows directly from the definition of correlation. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/13 "2018-04-23T04:43:55Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Until about the year 2000, it seemed that ADHD only occurred in white children from low-income families. :dubious: > > Children, and adults too, have to present for evaluation before they can be diagnosed. p.s. The answer to the OP’s question is NO. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/14 "2018-04-23T04:54:38Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Until about the year 2000, it seemed that ADHD only occurred in white children from low-income families. :dubious: > > Children, and adults too, have to present for evaluation before they can be diagnosed. I’m kinda confused by your post. I asked the question to bring up the possibility that the rates of autism in the U.S. are higher than in Cuba due to more white people living in the U.S. Obviosly this is idle speculation. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/15 "2018-04-23T04:55:51Z")
Here is [an article on the prevalence of autism by race](https://spectrumnews.org/news/race-class-contribute-disparities-autism-diagnoses/). This one states that it’s more prevalent among whites than other ethnic groups, but that there no known genetic reason for this to be true. [This article states that maternal nativity plays a role in diagnosis](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4067639/). Latino children are more often diagnosed than other blacks, but it’s not clear why US latinos are diagnosed less frequently. > [@](#): > > What’s Known on the issue of Tylenol: > > Autism prevalence is reported to be highest among non-Hispanic white children, lower in Hispanic and African American/black children, and highly variable in Asian/Pacific Islanders. More comorbid intellectual disability and delays in expressive language have been observed among Hispanic and African American children. > > What This Study Adds: > > Maternal nativity is a risk factor for childhood autism in US populations. We observed higher risk of severe autism phenotypes in children of foreign-born black, Central/South American, Filipino, and Vietnamese mothers and US-born African Americans and Hispanics compared with US-born whites. [Third article](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5044872/), shows that > [@](#): > > fewer children with ASD vs. non-ASD children use acetaminophen as a “first choice” compared to “never use” (OR 0.165, 95% CI 0.045, 0.599). We found significantly more children with ASD vs. non- ASD children change to the use of ibuprofen when acetaminophen is not effective at reducing fever (p = 0.033) and theorize this change in use is due to endocannabinoid system dysfunction. Tylenol is not the issue. NSAIDs probably aren’t either. Don’t read self-help gurus for medical advice. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/16 "2018-04-23T05:49:43Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Apparently, you got to let the body cook that virus out of the system…it is a vital procedure that needs to be seen through to the end, naturally. By that reasoning, any immunization which doesn’t produce a fever wouldn’t work; this would include both induced immunization (vaccines) and those due to encountering the bug in the wild. The fever is one of many symptoms of the immune system going on overdrive (i.e., the immunization is working); it is not the only one, nor is it the mechanism by which the bugs are being killed. Giving antipyretics to feverish patients does not prolong the illness; giving them to someone who’s been vaccinated does not cause a secondary effect which they wouldn’t cause if the reason for the fever was a random bug instead of an injected one. Re. the original question, to obtain a correlation, one needs more than two points; or rather, two points can always be forced into a perfect correlation. There’s almost 200 countries in the world, dude picked only two and then grabbed one of hundreds of differences between the two to blame for autism. Why not blame capitalism vs communism, free market vs directed economy, obesity epidemic vs limited diet? > [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’m kinda confused by your post. I asked the question to bring up the possibility that the rates of autism in the U.S. are higher than in Cuba due to more white people living in the U.S. Obviosly this is idle speculation. Is there? More white people in the US, I mean. Is this [Cuban-American](https://www.google.es/search?q=cameron+diaz&safe=active&rlz=1C1GGRV_enFR787FR787&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiyovuT2s_aAhXJ1xQKHaujDkAQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=637) white or Hispanic? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/17 "2018-04-23T05:50:41Z")
There are physicians who give _acetaminophen_ to small children? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/18 "2018-04-23T05:54:06Z")
In baby doses, yes. It’s been the antipyretic of choice for decades, pretty much since aspirin got a bad rap. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/19 "2018-04-23T06:04:58Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > There are physicians who give _acetaminophen_ to small children? Thank God they don’t use Tylenol! But would _paracetamol_ be safe? The world may never know. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932/20 "2018-04-23T06:13:43Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Is there? More white people in the US, I mean. Is this [Cuban-American](https://www.google.es/search?q=cameron+diaz&safe=active&rlz=1C1GGRV_enFR787FR787&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiyovuT2s_aAhXJ1xQKHaujDkAQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=637) white or Hispanic? Are there more white people in The U.S. than in Cuba? Of course. There are more people of pretty much every race/diversity in the U.S. than in Cuba. It almost seems like you are trying to twist my post into some racism-tinged thing. It’s not disputed that black people run a higher risk of sickle-cell anemia in the U.S. (or at least it wasn’t last time I heard anything), for example. I wondering if white people (with no or negligible Cuban heritage) had statistically higher incidence of autism per capita than native born Cuban people. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-autism-caused-by-tylenol/812932.md?page=2)