Have you ever wondered why some children develop ADHD, even without a genetic history? ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is so prevalent these days that the APA (American Psychiatric Association) has confirmed in statistics that 5% of American children have this behavioral problem. The more alarming fact is that acetaminophen, a component in over-the-counter drugs, has the ability to trigger the development of ADHD in infants while inside the womb. This is a very controversial study on pregnant women as linked with ADHD and acetaminophen.
“For a long time, acetaminophen [was] considered [one of] the few safe pain and fever relief medications during pregnancy,” Xiaobin Wang, MD, MPH, said. “However, previous studies based on maternal self-report and our study based on acetaminophen metabolite biomarkers showed consistent findings between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and increased risk of ADHD risk, and possibly, ASD as well.”
According to the journal Pediatrics, when a pregnant mother uses this drug for a long period of time, it can trigger the risk in a double for the development of ADHD in their babies. In the Pediatrics study, they concluded that short-term use of acetaminophen cannot affect the baby in terms of ADHD development. However, the issue lies with using acetaminophen for a long time. Susan Heitler, Ph.D., cited a study, “The findings in this study certainly give reasons for pregnant women to increase their wariness of taking medication to reduce discomfort during pregnancy.”
The scientists who facilitated the study collected data from 95,242 mommies, 75,217 daddies, and 112,973 kids who were born from 1999 to 2009. This group had 2,245 cases of children clinically diagnosed with ADHD. 47% of the parents in this study have taken acetaminophen sometime during their pregnancy.
There is substantial proof that it can increase the risk of ADHD development in an unborn baby. Of that group, the mothers reported having taken acetaminophen during the pregnancy – 27 percent of them said they used acetaminophen during their first three months, 16 percent of the moms said that they had taken acetaminophen in their second trimester, and around four percent of the mothers reported having taken acetaminophen in their last trimester. “Acetaminophen passes through the placenta, and the antioxidant destruction could conceivably cause neurotoxicity in a developing fetus. In any case, heavy use of acetaminophen during pregnancy seems unadvisable if it can be avoided,” Emily Deans, M.D. explains.
As Eivind Ystrom said when interviewed by CNN, using acetaminophen for at least 29 days by a pregnant mother can truly increase the risk of ADHD development in the infant by up to 220 percent. Eivind Ystrom is a researcher from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the person in charge of the study. They reached a conclusion that the risk of ADHD development in unborn kids is likely to happen considering family medical conditions, as well as intake of acetaminophen.
The proponents of the study said that this finding must not discourage pregnant women from using acetaminophen when they have a fever or if they are feeling some body pains. However, it is imperative that they speak with their OB-Gyn about it. There are other ways to treat a fever by not taking this drug or if acetaminophen is the only solution, then, it must not be used for more than 29 days.
CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that in the United States alone, 65% of women who are bearing a child take acetaminophen to ease their body pains and lower their fever.
The good side to this study is that it also provided information to those who used acetaminophen for less than seven days. Risks of developing ADHD in babies of pregnant women are also lessened, a study shows.
Co-director of Center for Better Beginnings, Christina Chambers, told CBS News in an interview that the study of Eivind Ystrom on the link between ADHD development in pregnant women and acetaminophen is absolute only if there is long-term use.
*This article was inspired by news reports acquired from the New York Post, CDC, CNN, and CBS. ADHD has also been linked with anxiety and other mental health issues. To know more about their possible connection, you can read these articles: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/anxiety/.