foodconsumer.org: MMR vaccine may actually cut autism risk

MMR vaccine may actually cut autism risk
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admin on 12/21/2009 00:38:00
 
A recent survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
indicates that prevalence of autism in U.S. children increased by 57 percent
from 2002 to 2006.  There is no known cause for the increase.
Some early studies found an association between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)
vaccination and autism in children. But others proved otherwise.
One new case-control study led by Mro?ek-Budzyn D of Jagiellonian University in
Krakow, Poland and colleagues showed that children who received MMR vaccines
were actually at much lower risk of autism.
The researchers included in their study 96 cases of autism in children aged 2 to
15 and 192 healthy children matched to cases by year of birth, sex and general
practitioners.
All data on autism diagnosis and vaccination history were obtained from
physicians and data on possible autism risk factors were collected from
subjects' mothers.
Mro?ek-Budzyn et al. considered mother's age, medication during pregnancy,
generation time, perinatal injury and Apgar score in their analysis and found
MMR vaccine was not linked to increased risk of autism.
Of children vaccinated before diagnosis, those who were vaccinated with MMR were
at 83 percent reduced risk of autism and those vaccinated with single measles
vaccine were at 56 percent reduced risk compared to those who were
non-vaccinated.
Vaccinated children were at 72 percent reduced risk of autism compared to those
who were did not receive measles vaccine.
In those who were vaccinated before onset of first symptoms, odds ratio for MMR
versus single vaccine was 0.47/1, meaning that those receiving MMR were at 53
percent reduced risk compared to those receiving single measles vaccine.
The researchers concluded that "the study provides evidence against the
association of autism with either MMR or a single measles vaccine."
The study was published on Dec 1, 2009 online in The Pediatric Infectious
Disease Journal.
By David Liu davidl at foodconsumer dot org
Editor's note:  The study is tiny. Now that many other risk factors were
included in the analysis, any possible link between MMR vaccine and increased
risk of autism can be erased.  This is not to say there is indeed such a link. 
It’s just that the research couldn’t actually disprove the link.