Prenatal exposure to paracetamol is not without consequences for the health of babies, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal International Journal of Epidemiology. Indeed, this new study reveals that this frequently used pain reliever may increase the risk of symptoms of autistic spectrum in boys and attention and hyperactivity in little girls and boys.
Researchers from the Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL-Barcelona in Spain) carried out a study with 2,644 mother-child pairs participating in a birth cohort started during the pregnancy.
Paracetamol widely used during pregnancy
The majority (88%) of children took assessment tests at 1 year and 80% at 5 years. The mothers declared by questionnaire their consumption of paracetamol during the pregnancy. Scientists observed that almost half of children (43%) were exposed during the first 32 weeks of pregnancy to paracetamol.
Paracetamol has effects on the development of children
The findings of this study showed that at 5 years of age, these exposed children have a higher risk ofhyperactivity and impulsive behavior. When babies have had prolonged in utero contact with paracetamol, they develop poorer cognitive performance on attention, poorer self-control and slower speed of execution. However, the researchers specify that this effect is dose-dependent, that is to say that the higher the consumption of paracetamol, the greater the risk.
The researchers also noted that the impact on boys was significant. Indeed, they present more than autism spectrum symptoms.
“If they are symptoms and not diagnoses, these symptoms are of such a nature that they justify a neuro-developmental evaluation”, explains the lead author, Dr Claudia Avella-Garcia, researcher at CREAL.
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