Paracetamol-autism link debunked in review

There is no clear link between pregnant women taking the common painkiller paracetamol and autism in their children, despite repeated claims otherwise by Donald Trump, according to the most comprehensive review of the existing evidence published yesterday.

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In September, the US president sparked outrage among the medical community by claiming that paracetamol - also known as acetaminophen - was associated with higher rates of autism.

Trump urged pregnant women to “tough it out” rather than take paracetamol, comments which health researchers warned could scare women off their safest option to treat pain - and risked further stigmatising autistic people.

The World Health Organisation has emphasised that there is no robust evidence showing that paracetamol, which is the main ingredient in massively popular painkillers such as Tylenol and Panadol, causes autism.