Study Discredits
Vaccine-Autism Link
[Posted 01/08/2008]
Autism
researchers from the California State Public Health
Department found that the autism rate in children
rose continuously in the study period 1995 to 2007.
Ironically, the preservative, thimerosal, has not
been used in childhood vaccines since 2001, except
for some flu shots. Researchers say that this fact
disproves the theory that the mercury in thimerosal
causes the mysterious neurological disorder.
Results of the study were released in the January
issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry,
a publication of the Journal of the American
Medical Association. It is the first study to offer
hard evidence that thimerosal plays no role in
autism. “Whatever the explanation for this increase
in children with autism, exposure to mercury in
vaccines is not it,” said Robert Schechter, a
medical officer with the California Department of
Health Services and lead author of the study.
“Vaccines with thimerosal and without have been
safe and appropriate to give to our children.”
Cases
of autism, a neurological disorder marked by
profound communication problems and impaired social
skills, have exploded in the past two decades,
pushing the condition to the forefront of medical
research. Autism was considered rare before the
1990s, afflicting as few as 5 children per 10,000
births, but the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimated last year that as many as 1 in
150 American children is diagnosed with autism now.
The study did not explore why autism cases
increased.
But
even as researchers held up the study as absolute
evidence that childhood vaccinations do not cause
autism, some parents were quick to point out what
they saw as flaws in the report. They stand by
their claim that exposure to mercury—be it in a
vaccine or from environmental sources—is a major
cause of autism.
Related Links:
Full Study from Archives of General Psychiatry
The New York Times News Article
San Francisco Chronicle News Article
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