title: Prenatal Use of Acetaminophen and Child IQ: A Danish Cohort Study.
abstract: Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is the most commonly used pain and fever medication during pregnancy, and recently has been linked to hyperactivity and behavioral problems in children. We examine whether prenatal use of acetaminophen affects children's intelligence quotient (IQ).
  
  
  
  We studied 1,491 mothers and children enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC; 1996-2002). Acetaminophen use in pregnancy was prospectively recorded in three telephone interviews. Child IQ was assessed at age 5 with the Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scales of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) administered by trained psychologists. We employed linear regression analysis, adjusting for maternal IQ and other confounding factors, and assessed interactions between acetaminophen and indications for use.
  
  
  
  Both maternal fever in pregnancy and acetaminophen use were associated with child IQ. Children born to mothers using acetaminophen without reporting fever scored on average 3.4 points lower (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.30 to 6.6 points) on performance IQ compared with offspring of mothers who neither experienced fever nor took acetaminophen. Estimated effects for acetaminophen were stronger for first or second trimester use. Children born to mothers reporting fever without using acetaminophen also scored lower on verbal (2.7 points, 95% CI: -0.19, 5.6) and performance IQ (4.3 points, 95% CI: 0.30, 8.3); IQ scores were not affected if mothers with fever used acetaminophen.
  
  
  
  Maternal acetaminophen use during pregnancy was associated with lower performance IQ in 5-year olds. However, acetaminophen treatment of maternal fever in pregnancy showed an apparent compensatory association with child IQ scores. (See video abstract at http://links.lww.com/EDE/B87.).
authors.affiliation: From 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.
authors.forename: Zeyan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liew
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ritz
authors.forename: Jasveer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Virk
authors.forename: Onyebuchi A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Arah
authors.forename: Jørn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olsen
mesh_terms: D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000328:Adult; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D007360:Intelligence / Q000187:drug effects*; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014888:Wechsler Scales
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D000082:Acetaminophen