taking a look at autism
Recently, one of my most favorite kids (see above) was diagnosed with autism. In my heart of hearts I believe that by the time he is 5 that label diagnosis will be hardly apparent because he is fun and social and different than every autistic kid I have ever worked with, however in the meantime I have been doing a lot of reading about childhood autism and the current research.
Today I am reviewing the vaccine issue, because I think it’s a very important public health issue and there has been a lot of hype about vaccines and mercury and autism and I wanted to take a look at what the studies show before I start spouting off about anything.
I’ll start with the CDC, who states the weight of currently available scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that vaccines cause autism. They also remind us that thimerosal, the evil mercury agent used in vaccines has not been used since 1999.
Here is the National Institute of Health’s page on autism and the MMR vaccine, which also states there is no proof that vaccines cause autism.
American Academy of Pediatric’s autism information page as well as information examining the initial study that started this whole thing.
JAMA article from 2001, a 14 year epidemiological study of over 15,000 cases in California which concluded that these data do not suggest an association between MMR immunization among young children and an increase in autism occurrence.
New England Journal of Medicine article from 2002: a study of over 537,000 Danish children showed that there was no association between the age at the time of vaccination, the time since vaccination, or the date of vaccination and the development of autistic disorder and no correlation between the vaccine and the disorder.
A study in Psychological Medicine of 2400 subjects showed no increased risk of autistic disorders in recipients of the vaccines in the UK.
In 2004, the journal of Evidence Based Nursing reviewed 10 epidemiological studies and found “existing epidemiological evidence shows that (1) rates of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) are not higher in children who receive mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR) vaccination; (2) ASD rates have not increased in relation to increased MMR vaccination coverage; (3) time of development of ASD is not associated with MMR vaccination (ie, diagnosis of ASD does not generally occur soon after vaccination); and (4) variant ASD is probably not associated with MMR vaccination, although some of the studies examining this question had important limitations.”
In 2004 the American Journal of Preventive Medicine published a review article titled Autism and thimerosal-containing vaccines: Lack of consistent evidence for an association which concluded that “the body of existing data, including the ecologic data presented herein, is not consistent with the hypothesis that increased exposure to Thimerosal-containing vaccines is responsible for the apparent increase in the rates of autism in young children being observed worldwide.”
JAMA as well as The Journal of Family Practice published a study on thimerosal in 2004, of 467,450 children in Denmark from 1900-1996 and concluded that “autism rates in children receiving vaccines containing thimerosal were not statistically different than for children receiving thimerosal-free vaccines.” JAMA. 2003;290:1763-1766.
Here is a study in Medical Science Monitorwhich shows the opposite though even after reading the entire article I’m not sure how many cases were studied.
The Canadians also did a review of the literature, finding “no convincing evidence” to support the claim that vaccines had a causal relationship with autism. Can J Neurol Sci. 2006 Nov;33(4):341-6.
The Lancet, who published an article linking vaccines to autism in 1998 later apologized for publishing a very flawed study and misleading its readers.
A few more links:
Federal research being done on vaccines and autism
American Academy of Pediatrics looks at thermosial
I have a number of friends with young children/babies/fetuses who are now trying to make the decision about whether or not to vaccinate their kids. Honestly, I didn’t think it was a decision to be made, but thanks to scare culture and 60 minutes, it’s an issue. So there you have it, the evidence over the last 5 years. Do with it what you wish.
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This is epidemiology — not lab tests on individual children, particularly a genetically vulnerable subset.
Any child with a pychological diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder should receive a variety of medical tests for comorbid physical ailments such as heavy metal poisoning, gastrointestinal lesions, allergies, autoimmune disorders, PANDAS, etc.
Check out websites for the Autism Research Institute and DAN! doctors in California, Thoughtful House in Texas. Also find a list of practitioners at see www.GenerationRescue.org or www.AutismOne.org. See research on Thimerosal from the UC-Davis MIND Institute and check out the 2005 Burbacher primate study.
And if you choose to investigate the corruption behind the CDC statistics, IOM report and Danish studies, read www.PutChildrenFirst.org and www.Safeminds.org.
FWIW, the child in the photo above appears to have “allergic shiners.” Early medical testing and treatment is crucial to improve the health and quality of life for these children. This is a parent-driven revolution in medicine due to the fatally entrenched attitudes toward psychological disorders.
nhokkanen - September 17th, 2007 at 6:49 am
I think it’s just the lighting in the photo, he doesn’t appear to have allergic shiners in person. He sees a doctor or a therapist everyday now, and he’s very well followed.
Some of those links are rather interesting, I like this article a lot and there is more to be learned on every passing day. All patients should be thought of on a case by case basis, but one also has to remain cognizant of the fact that what is correlative is not always causative and I think people forget that sometimes. What is unfortunate is that the media has successfully scared the public without educating them, and decisions made out of fear rather than rationalization don’t always prove to be the best ones.
malingering - September 17th, 2007 at 9:26 am
Really? Considering I’m the mother of the child above (yes, Mal has my permission to use his picture. Obviously.), I can tell you that he has no allergies.
I’d better get better lighting in my family room or else people are going to think he has cancer or something.
As for the diagnosis of children based on a -picture-, isn’t that a little dangerous?
wskrz - September 17th, 2007 at 9:43 am
looks like you’re not really taking a look after all?
here’s another reference, in case you’re genuinely curious: http://healthfulliving.org/autism/
may you find a way to consider new points of view, whenever you’re ready.
eep - September 21st, 2007 at 1:23 pm
1) I don’t particularly recall expressing a point of view, just a summary of research.
2) May science find a way to prove that diet, elimination of toxins, and alternative therapies are genuinely helpful, whenever it’s ready.
malingering - September 21st, 2007 at 6:52 pm
A diagram from healthfulliving.org
Where is the arrow that goes to the language center, the prefrontal cortex, or the amygdala? Is the brain not involved in this anymore?
malingering - September 21st, 2007 at 6:57 pm
[…] I already did a review (not a manifesto or recommendation, so back the fuck up, Mercury Militia) on vaccines and autism in the medical literature. Maybe I should send it to Miss McCarthy so her ghostwriter can read it to her. There is no hard evidence that vaccines cause autism. Another study came out this week. And thermosial is not even used in the MMR vaccine in this country yet she went whining about it on Oprah. […]
Malingering’s World » Jenny McCarthy: World’s Expert on Public Health - October 2nd, 2007 at 11:57 pm
[…] I used to think this stemmed from laziness or ignorance but now I understand that it comes from self-serving narcissism and a profound desire for control. I have found that the more scientific data (in the form of peer reviewed journal articles) I cite, the more defensive people get. I have been called a bitch, a brat and I’ve been accused of sabotage. I have been told “may you find a way to consider new points of view, whenever you’re ready.” God forbid I consider the point of view that data is data and anecdotes are anecdotes and each should be taken for what they are. […]
Malingering’s World » a placebo life - November 1st, 2007 at 8:25 pm
AAAAAAAMMEN!!! I know you posted this last year but I found my way here (I’ll spare you the details) and words cannot express my utter delight at your references. As a public health professional, thank you thank you thank you for citing SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH! I have had this “discussion” with so many friends over the years and the crap out there, based on scare-tactics and irrefutable websites and mommy chatter is horribly detrimental. I have zero personal experience with ASDs but simply appreciate your resources. Although based on principle, I don’t tend to edit comments, those that are filled with hate (not to mention without real scientific findings in this case) should be deleted. *sigh* GOOD WORK MALINGERING!!
LilSass - July 21st, 2008 at 12:25 am