(NewsNation) — The dean of the Brown University School of Public Health says that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made conversations about autism more difficult.
“The complication here is, and I’m going to talk about Secretary Kennedy here, he has often peddled what is clearly bad information about vaccines and autism,” Dr. Ashish K Jha said Tuesday on NewsNation’s “On Balance.” His comments come in the wake of President Trump’s announcement on Tylenol guidance for pregnant women.
“I think (RFK Jr.) kind of poisoned the well for that broader conversation that is absolutely necessary,” Jha added.
Researching autism will provide new information: Jha
During a news conference Monday, Trump discouraged pregnant women from taking Tylenol, saying research needs to be done to see if there is a potential link between the pain reliever and higher autism risk in children.
Tylenol, whose active ingredient is acetaminophen, is a common pain reliever that doctors have long considered safe to use during pregnancy.
Jha feels that if scientists do the research, they will be able to find new information to provide a better understanding of the cause or causes of autism.
“My sense is, if we do the research, we’re going to find there are multiple things contributing,” Jha said.
“Genetics, age of the dad. By the way, there’s increasing evidence that older dads contribute to this, but there are probably a whole bunch of environmental factors. We should be studying those things. We should not be afraid to ask those questions,” Jha said.
Autism has risen in last 30 years
Autism diagnoses have increased over the last 30 years, Jha said. He attributes those numbers to the improved ability for doctors and scientists to diagnose the condition.
According to the CDC’s latest report, about one in 31 (3.2%) 8-year-old children were identified with autism across 16 Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring network communities in 2022.
Researchers largely attribute the rise to two main factors: a broader definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder and more widespread screening.