autism
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has, for many years, promoted claims that contradict established scientific consensus and common sense. Although he often frames his arguments as skepticism towards ‘the establishment’, his positions consistently conflict with the findings of sound science. This has led to widespread criticism from skeptics, scientists, physicians, and public health officials who argue that his rhetoric is steeped in misinformation.
The most prominent example is his long-standing insistence that vaccines cause autism, a claim that has been exhaustively studied and repeatedly disproven. Extensive epidemiological research involving millions of children across multiple countries has found no causal link between vaccination and autism, a conclusion affirmed by organizations such as the CDC and the WHO.
Kennedy has also continued to emphasize theories about mercury-based vaccine preservatives long after those substances were removed from most childhood vaccines, despite autism diagnosis rates continuing to rise—an outcome that directly contradicts his hypothesis and is not supported by sound evidence.
Recently his rejection of scientific consensus also expanded into the COVID-19 era. He characterized COVID vaccines as uniquely dangerous, suggested they could alter human DNA, and implied that public health agencies were concealing mass harm. These claims stand in overt contrast to real-world data from billions of administered doses, which show that serious adverse effects are rare and that vaccination dramatically reduces severe illness and death.
Similar patterns of misinformation appear in his claims about wireless technologies like 5G, which he has linked to immune suppression or cancer despite the well-established fact that such signals are non-ionizing and incapable of damaging DNA.
Underlying many of Kennedy’s positions is a recurring narrative that modern disease is primarily driven by hidden toxins and that public health institutions knowingly suppress cures or evidence of harm. While environmental exposures are a legitimate area of scientific study, Kennedy’s sweeping conclusions – often paired with sympathy for “detox” or so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) – go far beyond what evidence supports.
In conclusion, Kennedy erodes trust in medicine and science, replacing science with insinuations and conspiracy theories. The outcome of his ‘war on science’ has been a normalization of falsehoods that have been tested, rejected, and shown to be harmful. In a nutshell: Kennedy is a danger to all our health and well-being. The sooner he is replaced, the better for science, progress and global health.
Two days ago, the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) published an announcement; here are its ‘key points’:
- The claim “vaccines do not cause autism” is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.
- Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.
- HHS has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.
In the announcement proper, they make the following argument:
The rise in autism prevalence since the 1980s correlates with the rise in the number of vaccines given to infants. Though the cause of autism is likely to be multi-factorial, the scientific foundation to rule out one potential contributor entirely has not been established. For example, one study found that aluminum adjuvants in vaccines had the highest statistical correlation with the rise in autism prevalence among numerous suspected environmental causes…
I am concerned with all the many other relationships that have not been adequately investigated, presumably because of powerful interests from influential organisations. Here are just three examples.:
- It is well known that the consumption of ice cream correlates with death from drowning. How many people have to die until the government finally stops the BIG ICE CREAM lobby?
- Similarly, it is a fact that the more margarine is consumed, the higher the divorce rate in Maine. How many marriages will have to break up, until BIG MARGERINE is finally stopped?
- Finally, it is well known that the rate of chocolate consumption correlates within a country with the number of Nobel Prizes that country is awarded. How long do we have to wait until chocolate consumption becomes mandatory to boost the cognitive function of our children?
I am convinced that these three examples – there are plenty more, if you only do your research as well as RFKJr clearly does – are at least as important and just as plausible as the one currently tackled by the CDC. Therefore I urge the CDC to speed up their research and go after all the red herrings they can possibly find.
PS
In my experience, there are some readers who are intellectually too limited to identify satire. Let me therefore make it clear that THIS POST IS SATIRE!
PPS
There has been wide-spread condemnation of the CDC announcement, e.g.:
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): The president of the AAP called the change “false information” and asserted that the updated page was promoting a harmful myth. The organization emphasized that over 40 high-quality studies involving more than 5.6 million people have clearly and unambiguously concluded that there is no link between vaccines and autism.
- Scientific Integrity and Public Trust: Public health experts and former CDC officials argued that the revision was “reckless and harmful,” had “no scientific rationale,” and was driven by “politics” rather than science. They warned that the move would sow doubt in routine childhood immunizations and undermine public trust in the CDC as a credible scientific voice.
- Lack of Scientific Review: Critics noted that the updated content did not cite any new research and appeared to have been implemented without the normal scientific clearance process involving career scientists at the CDC.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated that circumcised boys have double the rate of autism. He thus suggested this is “highly likely” because they are given Tylenol for pain after the procedure. His claim references this 2015 study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine:
Objective: Based on converging observations in animal, clinical and ecological studies, we hypothesised a possible impact of ritual circumcision on the subsequent risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in young boys.
Design: National, register-based cohort study.
Setting: Denmark.
Participants: A total of 342,877 boys born between 1994 and 2003 and followed in the age span 0-9 years between 1994 and 2013.
Main outcome measures: Information about cohort members’ ritual circumcisions, confounders and ASD outcomes, as well as two supplementary outcomes, hyperkinetic disorder and asthma, was obtained from national registers. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with foreskin status were obtained using Cox proportional hazards regression analyses.
Results: With a total of 4986 ASD cases, our study showed that regardless of cultural background circumcised boys were more likely than intact boys to develop ASD before age 10 years (HR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.11-1.93). Risk was particularly high for infantile autism before age five years (HR = 2.06; 95% CI: 1.36-3.13). Circumcised boys in non-Muslim families were also more likely to develop hyperkinetic disorder (HR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.11-2.96). Associations with asthma were consistently inconspicuous (HR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.84-1.10).
Conclusions: We confirmed our hypothesis that boys who undergo ritual circumcision may run a greater risk of developing ASD. This finding, and the unexpected observation of an increased risk of hyperactivity disorder among circumcised boys in non-Muslim families, need attention, particularly because data limitations most likely rendered our HR estimates conservative. Considering the widespread practice of non-therapeutic circumcision in infancy and childhood around the world, confirmatory studies should be given priority.
In other words, the study found that circumcised boys were more likely to be diagnosed with autism compared to others in the group. Kennedy asserts that the post-circumcision use of Tylenol is the causal factor, relating it to his broader, unproven theory that acetaminophen use in early childhood is linked to autism.
Yet, every 1st-year medical student would point out that the study demonstrated only a correlation, not a causation, between circumcision and autism. Critically, the researchers involved in the original Denmark study stated that they had no data on the use of painkillers or anesthetics during the procedure, meaning they could not address whether Tylenol was involved in the observed correlation.
Other subsequent, more rigorous studies have found no evidence to support a link between either circumcision or Tylenol use and autism. Numerous health organizations, including the Autism Society of America, have criticized Kennedy’s theorie as being unproven, misleading, and not based on scientific evidence.
PS
Mr Kennedy, if you are reading this (which would surprise me), here are a few further, well-documented correlations that you might find worthy of your pseudo-research interest:
- The per capita consumption of margarine is highly correlated with the divorce rate in Maine.
- There’s a strong correlation between the number of people who drowned by falling into a pool and the number of films in which Nicolas Cage has appeared.
- The number of doctoral degrees awarded in civil engineering correlates with the per capita consumption of mozzarella cheese.
- The amount of cheese consumed strongly correlates with the number of people who have died by becoming tangled in their bedsheets.
- The revenue generated by arcades is correlated with the number of computer science doctorates awarded.
- The per capita consumption of sour cream correlates with the number of motorcycle deaths in the U.S.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION IN THIS MATTER.
I have repeatedly warned about the immense damage that RFKJr. is currently inflicting on public health in the U.S. and beyond (most recently here). Recently, I have been joined by prominent and authorative experts. Six former U.S. Surgeons General from both Republican and Democratic administrations authored a joint article warning that the actions and policies of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are “endangering the health of the nation.”
The authors are:
- Jerome Adams (Trump Administration)
- Richard Carmona (George W. Bush Administration)
- Joycelyn Elders (Clinton Administration)
- Vivek Murthy (Obama and Biden Administrations)
- Antonia Novello (George H.W. Bush Administration)
- David Satcher (Clinton Administration)
- Kennedy’s policies pose a “profound, immediate and unprecedented threat” to the nation’s health.
- Kennedy has “rejected science, misled the public and compromised the health of Americans” and “spent decades advancing dangerous and discredited claims about vaccines.”
- Kennedy has undermined the foundations of the public health system, and therefore “science and expertise have taken a back seat to ideology and misinformation.”
- Kennedy has accelerated vaccine policy changes, including narrowing eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines and ordered a review of vaccine recommendations. More childhood vaccines will thus be in jeopardy.
- Kennedy de-emphasized vaccination during a recent measles outbreak which had serious consequences, including preventable measles deaths.
- Kennedy fired every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced them with “vaccine conspiracy theorists.”
- Kennedy cancelled $500 million in mRNA vaccine research projects which halts progress in a promising area of modern medicine.
- Kennedy called for the removal of psychiatric organizations and for cuts and restructuring to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The article of the six US Surgeons Gerneral is a most significant and entirely unprecedented action. As Kennedy’s policies and misinformation are actively and immediately jeopardizing the health and integrity of the nation’s public health system, it seems both necessary and timely.
Consider the case of a women who is 3 months pregnant and develops a high and persistent fever (by no means a rare event). Her doctor diagnoses a strep throat and treats her with antibiotics. For lowering her temperature, he would normally have advised paracetamol (acetaminophen). After this was pronounced prohibitively dangerous, he has 3 options:
- Give no medicine for the fever.
- Give Aspirin.
- Give ibuprofen.
What are the risks involved in these three options?
1. Give no medicine for the fever
High or sustained fever, especially in the first trimester (which the patient is nearing the end of or just finished), has been associated with an increased risk of certain birth defects, including neural tube defects, heart defects, and cleft lip/palate.
2. Give Aspirin
The use of Aspirin during pregnancy, especially at higher doses (not the low dose often used for preeclampsia prevention), carries the following risks:
- Higher doses of aspirin during early pregnancy raise the risk of pregnancy loss and congenital defects.
- Higher doses of aspirin are also associated with premature closure of the ductus arteriosus (a fetal heart vessel), fetal kidney problems, and increased bleeding risk for both mother and baby.
Low-dose aspirin is considered safe but may not affect the fever.
3. Give Ibuprofen
- Some studies suggest an increased risk of miscarriage, if taken around conception or over a long period, though evidence is conflicting.
- Ibuprofen is contraindicated in the third trimester (after 28 weeks) due to the risk of fetal renal dysfunction, premature closure of the ductus arteriosus or inhibition of uterine contractions.
What are the consequences?
One can extrapolate that an adherence to a “no paracetamol” policy to treat fever in pregnancy would likely have the following effects in the US:
- Over a thousand additional severe birth defects per year that might have been prevented by safely treating a high fever, especially in the first trimester.
- Many thousands of additional cases of preterm labor/delivery caused by untreated maternal fever later in pregnancy.
- A significant increase in the use of the riskier medicines such as ibuprofen or Aspirin which are associated with fetal risks, leading to hundreds of new cases of fetal kidney and cardiac issues.
In other words, persuading pregnant women to forgo the safest, most effective fever reducer would cause thousands of severe, preventable fetal adverse outcomes per year. This would far outweigh the unproven or even disproven risk of autism from short-term, appropriate paracetamol use.
For many years, I have fought aginst the looming age of unreason in healthcare. Now it seems more and more clear to me that the age of unreason is upon us – not merely in the realm of healthcare but in all spheres of life.
- The world’s foremost conman tells the UN assembly that climate change is a con.
- As though that is not bad enough, the delegates do not even get up and leave the room in protest.
- RFKJr tells the world that paracetamol is the cause of autism, thus contradicting the best available evidence.
- As though that is not bad enough, he also announces that leucovorin is the cure, thus contradicting the best available evidence..
- In Germany, the country that only a few decades ago committed unprecedented crimes against humanity in the name of Nazi ideology, larger and larger sections again vote for Nazis.
- In the UK, Nigel Farage who nearly ruined the country wth his Brexit, is now a serious contender for the post of PM.
- A US celebrity fascist is assassinated and instantly becomes a national hero.
- A US TV-host suggests to euthanize all homeless people.
- Another one says the UN building should be bombed.
- Trump insists that Zelensky started the war with Russia.
- The Indian AYUSH ministry promotes homeopathy as a treatment for COVID and other serious diseases.
- RFKJr believes that vaccinations do more harm than good and elevates this notion to a political movement.
These are just a few specific examples form an almost endless pool of options. They serve to support the more general arguments suggesting that the age of unreason is indeed upon us. These are based on a long list of inter-related phenomena (in no particular order):
- Proliferation of deliberate misinformation.
- Disregard for verifiable evidence by political figures and many others.
- Prioritization of strongly held personal feelings or emotions above reasoned deliberation or dispassionate analysis.
- Widespread distrust towards established institutions and experts.
- Rejection of consensus knowledge.
- Failure to equip citizens with the necessary skills to evaluate sources and discern bias.
- Headline-driven nature of modern communication.
- Immediate emotional reaction over in-depth and considered analysis.
- Widespread acceptance of irrational conspiracy theories.
- Public embrace of anti-intellectual attitudes.
- Proliferation of bullshit.
So, is the age of unreason upon us?
Please decide for yourself.
As predicted in my post yesterday, Donald Trump, Mehmet Oz and Robert F Kennedy Jr made an announcement on Monday at the White House, advising pregnant women to avoid taking paracetamol and claiming that it heightens the risk of autism. As pointed out in yesterday’s post, this assertion is not based on reliable evidence.
Specifically, like a trio of charlatans, they misled the public by claiming that the use of paracetamol during pregnancy is linked to autism and that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would be advising doctors to minimize its use. Also as predicted, they promoted leucovorin as an autism treatment, a claim equally not supported by reliable evidence. Finally, Trump repeated long-debunked claims that ingredients in vaccines or timing shots close together could contribute to rising rates of autism in the U.S., without providing any medical evidence.
Several medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics, swiftly condemned these statements as “irresponsible” and not backed by sound scientific evidence. They emphasized that a causal link between paracetamol and autism has not been established. New York University bioethicist Art Caplan said it was “the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority.” Health regulators in other countries, such as the UK and Australia, also reiterated their guidance that paracetamol is safe for use during pregnancy. The overwhelming consensus among the global scientific community is that paracetamol remains the safest pain relief option for pregnant women when used as directed. Untreated pain and fever during pregnancy can pose more significant risks to both the mother and the unborn baby.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is of course well-known for making millions by promoting every form of quackery on the planet, discussed the decision to have government health programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cover the cost of leucovorin, i.e. folinic acid, for the treatment of autism. He stated that this move would ensure access to the drug for millions of children and that he expected private insurance companies to follow suit. Yet, the use of leucovorin for autism is considered highly controversial, as pointed out in yesterday’s post. It is not widely accepted by the scientific community and, if effective at all, can work only for a small sub-set of autistic patients. Even for them, it is not a cure and would only be helpful for certain symptoms.
So, why mislead the public in this way?
One reason could be that the company, “iHerb” for which Mehmet Oz is “Global Advisor & Stakeholder”, sells no less than 4 supplements with a version of leucovorin. The announcement from the White House and the administration’s push for the drug therefore raise serious questions and concerns about conflicts of interest and corruption.
Trump said it more than once, for instance here, that on Monday [today] he will announce the true cause of autism: “I think we found an answer to autism. How about that? Autism. Tomorrow, we’re going to be talking in the Oval Office and the White House about autism, how it happens, so we won’t let it happen anymore. And how to get at least somewhat better when you have it so that parents can help their child, their beautiful child,” Trump said. Elsewhere he and his minons claimed that it will be based on the most comprehensive analysis ever conducted. It was also hinted that the cause will NOT be a vaccine!
So what will it be?
There have been multiple reports that Trump will claim that paracetamol taken during pregnancy causes autism.
And it gets better: it is being speculated that they also have identified a cure: leucovorin! This drug is essentiall folinic acid; Medline lists over 20 papers suggesting it might be helpful for children with autism. For example, one RCT showed that the change in CARS score was higher in the folinic acid group (3.6 ± 0.8) compared to the placebo group (2.4 ± 0.7, p < 0.001). The theory behind using leucovorin for autism is that some individuals with the condition have a metabolic abnormality called cerebral folate deficiency. In these cases, the brain has low levels of folate (a crucial nutrient for brain development) despite normal folate levels in the rest of the body. This can be caused by the immune system producing antibodies that block the transport of folate into the brain. Leucovorin, a form of folate, can bypass this blockage and help restore folate levels in the brain. However, the claim that leucovorin cures autism is unfounded. There merely is promising, albeit limited, evidence to suggest that it may be an effective treatment for specific symptoms in a subgroup of individuals with autism who have an underlying folate metabolism abnormality.
The paracetamol claim aligns with a recent review by Mount Sinai and Harvard researchers that suggested a possible link between prenatal acetaminophen use and an increased risk of autism and ADHD. Its authors found an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes following prenatal APAP exposure. Further studies are urgently needed with; precise indication of use and exposure assessment of use both in utero and in early life. Given the current findings, pregnant women should be cautioned against indiscriminate use of APAP. These results have substantial public health implications. Officials might therefore plan to advise pregnant women to avoid using the drug in pregnancy.
Yet, there is contradicting evidence too: a large sibling study from Drexel University and Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet published in April 2024, for example, found no evidence to support a causal link between the drug’s use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism. And just days ago, Japanese and US authors concluded that although PS-matched analyses indicated small increases in risk, sensitivity analyses suggested that unmeasured confounding, misclassification and other biases may partially explain these associations.
So, whatever Trump’s big announcement will claim, it might neither be conclusive nor new nor innovative. But it will certainly be a big show trying to highlight the achievements of his administration.
I for one advise caution: the claim that paracetamol causes autism is not supported by a scientific consensus. While some studies have shown an association, others, including large-scale and more reliable sibling studies, have cast doubt on a direct causal link, suggesting that other underlying factors may be at play. I might remind Trump, RFKJr and his team of pseudoscientists of two things:
CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION
and
REAL SCIENCE RELIES ON RIGOROUS RESEARCH AND NOT ON POLITICAL THEATRE
