Malta’s Autism Advisory Council has criticised the US President Donald Trump’s latest claim that correlates the use of paracetamol during pregnancy to autism, urging caution among the public.“The fact that some persons took paracetamol in pregnancy, and their children were eventually diagnosed with autism, does not mean that there is a direct link, unless the data shows this regularly and consistently.”While different studies were cited in making this claim, there is nothing in said studies that proves causation, the Council wrote in a statement.The Council drafts and oversees Malta’s Autism Strategy. It is also responsible for seeing that Autism policy and practice are in line with established norms.Rather, the Harvard/ Mount Sinai review cited, which looked at 46 studies, concluded that the results coming out of the review were so inconsistent that a meta-analysis was unable to be performed. Out of the 46 studies reviewed, only 27 showed some kind of association.The lead author of the review even said that making such an association is like associating an increase in crime to an increase ice cream sales because both rise in summer.Speaking from the White House on Monday the US President said the main ingredient in Tylenol (paracetamol in Malta) carries a “very increased risk of autism” if taken during pregnancy.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed it will warn doctors to limit paracetamol use in pregnancy. Trump told reporters women should only take it if “medically necessary” such as for fever “if you can’t tough it out.”The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also issued a statement in which it confirmed that its earlier official guidance on taking paracetamol during pregnancy remained unchanged.“This brings us to the fundamental standard, in good academic practice, that correlation does not imply causation.”“Unless we have hard evidence in hand backed by hard science, it is both unprofessional and unfair to present such theories as fact to expectant mothers, while racking others with guilt, leading them to believe that their autistic child’s support needs are the direct result of having taken a common painkiller during pregnancy,” the Council’s statement continued.The organisation further drew attention to the recommendation of giving children a supplement called leucovorin. It explained that this is currently only given to chemotherapy patients in Malta and while some work has shown a possible association to improving speech in minimally verbal children, the results are still early and anecdotal.It would be irresponsible to prescribe this substance to children before large-scale, properly managed clinical trials are conducted, to verify the appropriateness of regularly giving leucovorin to young children.“The Autism Advisory Council reiterates its position that, while never opposed to further research on autism, in line with Malta’s 2021-2030 National Autism Strategy, we have a duty and responsibility to autistic people and their families, to make sure we only promote reliable courses of action, based on good science.”This, the Council explained, should happen in parallel with a continuing focus on improving their quality of life, through ever-evolving social services and support.•