The Facts Behind Claims on Autism, Tylenol and Folate

News reports have indicated Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may point to Tylenol and folate deficiency in his promised announcement on the causes of autism. But neither Tylenol nor folate deficiency has been shown to cause autism. Some evidence has pointed away from Tylenol as a risk factor.

“By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures,” Kennedy said in an April 10 Cabinet meeting. In an Aug. 26 Cabinet meeting, Kennedy said that the administration will “have announcements, as promised, in September. We’re finding interventions, certain interventions now, that are clearly, almost certainly causing autism.”