The association between maternal paracetamol use during pregnancy and the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children remains controversial. To address this debate, investigators systematically reviewed 43 studies and conducted a meta-analysis of 17 studies evaluating the impact of prenatal paracetamol exposure on child neurodevelopment. In sibling comparison analyses, maternal paracetamol use was not associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; odds ratio [OR], 0.98), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ; OR, 0.95), or intellectual disability (ID; OR, 0.93).
Similarly, analyses restricted to studies at low risk of bias showed no significant associations with ASD (OR, 1.03), ADHD (OR, 0.97), or ID (OR, 1.11). No significant associations were observed when analyses included all adjusted studies or those with more than five years of follow-up. Overall, these findings…
