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Prenatal Use of Acetaminophen and Child IQ: A Danish Cohort Study

Zeyan Liew1, Beate Ritz, Jasveer Virk

  • 1From the aDepartment of Epidemiology, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA; bDepartment of Public Health, Section for Epidemiology, University of Aarhus, Denmark; cDepartment of Neurology, Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA; dCalifornia Center for Population Research, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA; and eUCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Los Angeles, CA.

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)
|August 2, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal acetaminophen (paracetamol) use, particularly without fever, was linked to lower child IQ scores. However, using acetaminophen to treat fever during pregnancy appeared to mitigate this effect on cognitive development.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is a common pregnancy medication.
  • Previous studies suggest a link between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and behavioral issues in children.
  • The impact of prenatal acetaminophen on child intelligence quotient (IQ) remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prenatal acetaminophen use and child IQ.
  • To determine if maternal fever during pregnancy modifies the effect of acetaminophen on child IQ.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective cohort study of 1,491 mother-child pairs from the Danish National Birth Cohort.
  • Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was recorded via telephone interviews.
  • Child IQ was assessed at age 5 using the Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scales of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R).
  • Linear regression analysis adjusted for maternal IQ and other confounders was employed.

Main Results:

  • Maternal acetaminophen use without fever was associated with a 3.4-point lower performance IQ in children.
  • Effects were more pronounced with first or second-trimester use.
  • Maternal fever alone was associated with lower verbal and performance IQ.
  • Acetaminophen use for maternal fever did not show an association with lower child IQ.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy is associated with reduced performance IQ in offspring.
  • Treating maternal fever with acetaminophen during pregnancy may have a compensatory effect on child IQ.
  • Further research is warranted to understand the mechanisms underlying these associations.
Abstract

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