Tylenol During Pregnancy Linked to Higher Risk of ADHD

Pregnancy is already a fraught time for expectant moms, as more research shows how quickly the foods that women eat, the air they breathe, and the compounds to which they are exposed can traverse the placenta and affect their growing child. Now there’s another thing to add to the growing list of agents — including tobacco from cigarettes, mercury from fish, and alcohol — that may affect their babies’ development. In a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, an international group of researchers led by Dr. Jorn Olsen at the University of Aarhus in Denmark found a strong correlation between acetaminophen (found in common pain killers such as Tylenol) use among pregnant women and the rate of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses and prescriptions for ADHD medications in their children. Overall, moms who used the pain reliever to treat things like headaches or to reduce fevers saw a 37% increased risk in their kids receiving an ADHD diagnosis and a 29% increased risk in the chances that their kids needed ADHD medications compared with moms who didn’t use the over-the-counter medication at all.



via Health News Headlines - Yahoo News http://ift.tt/1fyYTQ9