At a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated a claim linking the use of Tylenol in infants to autism. Kennedy also said children circumcised shortly after birth have twice the rate of autism because they are given Tylenol for pain relief following the procedure.
His assertion appears to reference a 2015 study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine that examined ritual circumcision and the risk of autism spectrum disorder in Danish boys under 10. The study found a higher rate of autism among circumcised boys but did not establish a cause.
Researchers in that study suggested pain from the procedure might play a role but noted they had no data on what painkillers were used, making it impossible to assess any connection to Tylenol. Other scientists have since emphasized that the Danish research showed only a correlation, not causation, and that broader studies have found no credible evidence linking Tylenol or circumcision to autism.
This is a breaking news article. Updates to follow.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.