Low neurodevelopmental performance and behavioural/emotional problems at 24 and 48 months in Brazilian children exposed to acetaminophen during foetal development.

Background: Several studies have reported that there is an association between developmental and emotional/behavioural problems in children exposed to acetaminophen during foetal development. However, few studies have focused on development and behavioural outcomes in early life.

Objectives: To test the association between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen and low neurodevelopmental performance at 24 months and behavioural/emotional problems at 48 months of life.

Methods: We used data from the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort, a population-based longitudinal prospective study. Neurodevelopment was evaluated at 24 months using Battelle's Developmental Inventory (BDI) (n = 3737). We assessed global function as well as each domain (personal-social, adaptative, motor, cognitive, and communication). Behavioural/emotional problems were assessed at 48 months using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) (n = 3624). We used the CBCL total, externalising, and internalising symptomatology and individual subscales (withdrawn, somatic complaints, anxious/depressed, social problems, cognitive problems, attention problems, aggressive behaviour, and rule-breaking behaviour). Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was retrospectively assessed at the perinatal follow-up. Poisson regression and multiple linear regression analyses were used to test the association, adjusting for several family and maternal sociodemographic and health factors, medication use during pregnancy, and the sex of the child.

Results: Acetaminophen exposure during prenatal development was not associated with low neurodevelopmental performance at 24 months assessed using the BDI or to emotional and behavioural problems assessed at 48 months using the CBCL in the adjusted models.

Conclusions: We cannot confirm the existence of an association between acetaminophen used during pregnancy and low neurodevelopmental performance at 24 months and emotional/behavioural problems at 48 months of life based on the present results.