RFK Jr. has said that there is a link between circumcision and autism but a new study says he is wrong.
Medpage reported:
A study of U.S. children found no evidence linking neonatal male circumcision with autism spectrum disorder, prospective data from the ECHO cohort showed.
Among nearly 2,800 boys in 14 ECHO sites, 6% of those who were circumcised had autism compared with 9% of uncircumcised males, according to Monica McGrath, ScD, MHS, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and co-authors.
After adjusting for confounders, circumcision was not associated with an autism diagnosis (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.59-1.17), McGrath and colleagues reported in JAMA Pediatricsopens in a new tab or window.
Stratifying data by region, preterm birth, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission yielded either an inverse or no association. Circumcision also was not associated with autism-related traits or behaviors.
Only 4% of circumcised boys received acetaminophen (Tylenol) during the procedure and 7% had acetaminophen in the 30 days after birth, the researchers said. Most infants received nerve blocks (72%), oral glucose/sucrose (59%), or anesthetic cream (12%).
“These findings may provide reassurance for families who are considering or have elected circumcision for their son,” McGrath told MedPage Today.
In September 2025, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimedopens in a new tab or window that circumcised boys were twice as likely to develop autism as those not circumcised because they were given acetaminophen. The remarks came weeks after the White House warned pregnant women not to take acetaminophen over an unproven link with autism.
“We started hearing from friends, family, and colleagues in the fall of 2025 after media coverage of administration comments about a possible male circumcision-autism connection that referenced studies that were published over a decade ago,” McGrath said. “We knew the ECHO cohort had relevant data to help investigate this question.”
About half of newborn males in the U.S.are circumcised in the hospital within 28 days, but analyses of autism risk in circumcised boys are scarce. “There have been two poorly conducted studies that suggest a connection between circumcision and autism,” observed David Mandell, ScD, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, who wasn’t involved with the research.
If RFK, Jr is correct (and most certainly he is not), why then are adult Jewish men, worldwide, who were circumcised in infancy, not noticeably autistic?
Surely if they were, their families would have noticed.
Sincerely, Roberta M. Eisenberg (Lest people noticing my surname assume that I am Jewish, let me assure you that I have been Catholic from birth. So I am not some sort of apologist for circumcised Jewish men.) >
LikeLiked by 1 person
RFK Jr is a quack. Every male in my family –including 5 brothers, two sons, four grandsons, and multiple nephews–were circumcised and none is autistic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very important points, Roberta and Diane! And no one in my Jewish family is autistic either.
Also, I worked with a lot of autistic children and not even one of them was Jewish. Most by far were male, too.
LikeLike
There’s a definite link between RFK Jr and any bizarre conspiracy theory floating around the stratosphere. Only a malignant clown like Trump would have chosen RFK Jr to head any branch of the government. The man is not fit or competent enough to clean the toilets in the White House or any house; with apologies to janitors and/or custodians who would do a better job at HHS than RFKnutjob.
LikeLike
My understanding is that he snorted cocaine off a toilet seat years ago, also he said that doing heroin made him a better student. He also kept a written record of the women he had affairs with; 37 of them. His wife found his notebook, which led to her suicide.
He has done his very best to destroy HHS, the agency he leads. Sensible doctors ignore its recommendations.
LikeLike
I think circumnavigation can be shown to cause autism. Think about it. Magellan then autism. Makes perfect sense now that I think about it.
LikeLike
Hope RFKJr doesn’t see this.
LikeLike
It seems many of those circumcised were not medicated during the procedure – or am I wrong? I assume oral glucose/sucrose is not a sedative or pain reliever.
LikeLike
I have no personal experience witnessing a circumcision, but it’s a good question, so I checked Wikipedia and, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Circumcision, “Topical or locally injected anesthesia is generally used to reduce pain and physiologic stress.[1]”
LikeLike