Study finds no link between autism and MMR vaccine

[LibLabUK]

A UK study of more than 5,000 children has ruled out any link between the MMR vaccine and autism, researchers say. The Medical Research Council team could find no evidence of autism associated with the triple vaccine.

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The Medical Research Council team looked at the vaccination records of 1,294 children diagnosed with autism or other conditions they termed pervasive development disorders (PDDs) between 1987 and 2001 in England and Wales.

These children were compared with 4,469 children of the same sex and similar age who were registered with the same GP surgeries but did not have autism or PDDs. Dr Liam Smeeth and his colleagues from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine were unable to find any evidence to support an association between the triple measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and autism or other PDDs.

Overall, 78% of the children with autism or a PDD had received MMR. Similarly, 82% of the other children had been given MMR. This 4% difference was not significant, said Dr Smeeth.

Again, no difference was found when they looked specifically at autism, children vaccinated with MMR before their third birthday or the period before 1998 when controversy around the vaccine hit.
Dr Smeeth said: "We have found no convincing evidence that MMR vaccination increases the risk of autism or other PDDs. No significant association has been found in rigorous studies in a range of different settings."

He said research was now needed to try to pin down the real causes of autism.

BBC News Story



Lancet paper

[Spider Jerusalem]

1. The same results as the Scandinavian study of about 4 years ago.

Not surprising.