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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Study finds no link between

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immunizations and autism

By ERICKA P. THOMPSON

The autism debate continues to rage after a study released last week found that a controversial vaccine preservative appears to be risk-free.

Some legislators and parentsā€™ groups believe that thimerosal ā€“ a mercury-containing vaccine preservative ā€“ is a key component that has caused an epidemic in childhood autism.

The study however, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, rebukes such claims as did several others over the last few years, which had found no link between thimerosal and autism.

Dr. Billy Beechler, an autism specialist at Riley Hospital for Children believes many parents have latched on to the idea of immunizations as the main cause of autism because parents begin to notice the signs of autism when their child is around the ages of 1 and 2.

ā€œThey begin to notice signs such as delayed communication and the problems with social skills, and parents begin to think, ā€˜Well, what did we do different?ā€™ā€ he said. ā€œUnfortunately, some of the immunizations, especially for measles, mumps and rubella, are given right in that age group.ā€

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are conducting a separate autism study and thimerosal study that is expected to be released this year.

The study, which included 1,047 children involved those in neurological and psychological exams as well as looked at detailed medical histories to determine whether the childrenā€™s mother were exposed to thimerosal while pregnant, and how much thimerosal the children were exposed to during their first seven months of life.

After subjecting the data to nearly 400 different statistical measures, researchers found 19 different possible associations between thimerosal and various mental outcomes ā€“ most of which suggested that thimerosal was actually beneficial.

ā€œBy chance alone, with that number of tests, we would estimate that 5 percent of the results would be significant,ā€ said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the C.D.C. ā€œAnd thatā€™s what we found.ā€

While more detailed studies such as this are needed in find the cause of autism, Beechler says researchers will likely find the link in genetics. He says the age of both mom and dad may have an impact on their risk factors for having a child with autism.

ā€œI think genetics is going to be our big answer,ā€ he said. ā€œEspecially since many more boys are diagnosed with autism than girls.ā€

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