Taking paracetamol while pregnant ‘could make your child three times more likely to get ADHD’, scientists warn

CHILDREN could be three times as likely to develop ADHD if their mums take paracetamol during pregnancy, research suggests.

The study is one of several pieces of research that have looked into possible links between the common painkiller and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – a condition causing trouble with concentration, restlessness and impulsive behaviour.

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Taking paracetamol during pregnancy could make your child more likely to develop ADHD[/caption]

Previous studies have yielded conflicting findings.

A 2019 study involving more than 4,700 children and their mums suggested that paracetamol use in pregnancy could up the risk of children developing ADHD by 20 per cent.

But a more recent study conducted by the Karolinska Institute seemed to disprove this link.

The large scale analysis of nearly 2.5 million kids – published last year – found “no association” between pain-relieving drug and ADHD, autism or intellectual disabilities.

Study author Prof Renee Gardner, from the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet, advised parents to “always listen to your doctor’s assessment of whether or not the medication is safe in each individual case”.

Now, researchers at University of Washington in Seattle claim to have found a link after all.

Their study had a smaller participant pool that previous research – 307 Black women living in Tennessee.

But lead author Dr Brennan Baker claims it’s more accurate, as researchers looked for markers of paracetamol in blood samples collected from women during their second trimester.

He pointed out that older studies had relied on participants self-reporting their medication use, saying that many people might not remember if they’d popped a paracetamol while pregnant.

He told New Scientist: “A lot of people take [paracetamol] without knowing it.

“It could be the active ingredient in some cold medication you’re using, and you don’t necessarily know.”

The mums in Dr Baker’s study had an average age of 25 and most didn’t drink or smoke during their pregnancies.

None of them were taking medications for chronic conditions or had known pregnancy complications.

Researchers then followed up with participants when their children were between 8 and 10 years old, giving them a neurodevelopmental assessment.

Children whose mums took paracetamol when they were pregnant were 3.15 times more likely to develop ADHD, compared to kids whose mums did not.

This was the case even when researchers took into account mums’ ages, body mass index (BMI) and mental health conditions in other family members.

“Adjusting for potential confounders, detection of [paracetamol] in maternal second trimester plasma was associated with higher odds of ADHD diagnosis, compared with no exposure,” researchers wrote in their study published to Nature Mental Health.

This suggests that using paracetamol during pregnancy may raise children’s risk of developing ADHD.

But the study didn’t take into account how often the mums took paracetamol.

And researchers noted that their “measurement may only reflect use within a few days before the blood draw, and could disproportionately capture frequent paracetamol users over sporadic users”.

That’s because they measured blood markers of paracetamol at just one moment in time for each mum and these markers stick around in the blood for about three days.

Viktor Ahlqvist at the Karolinska Institute, also pointed out:“They haven’t been able to account for things like the mother’s reason for taking [paracetamol], such as headaches or fevers or pains or infections, which we know are risk factors for adverse child development.”

So, it’s possible that whatever led someone to take paracetamol in the first place is the actual risk factor for ADHD, rather than the drug.

But an analysis of tissue samples from 174 of the participants’ placentas showed that those using paracetamol underwent metabolic and immune system changes.

Dr Baker said: “There is a lot of prior work showing that elevated immune activation during pregnancy is linked with adverse neurodevelopment.”

He suggested that health agencies need to keep reviewing research around pain medication use during pregnancy and updating their guidance.

People who are unsure about whether they should take paracetamol while pregnant should speak to their doctor, he added.

NHS guidance states: “Paracetamol is the first choice of painkiller if you’re pregnant.

“It’s commonly taken during pregnancy and does not harm your baby.”

It also adds: “Before taking any medicine when you’re pregnant, including painkillers, check with your pharmacist, midwife or GP that it’s suitable.”

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) painkillers such as ibuprofen are not suitable for use in the third trimester.