This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (72)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related letters  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Psychiatry  • Drug Therapy  • Adverse Effects  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Anders Hviid, MSc; Michael Stellfeld, MD; Jan Wohlfahrt, MSc; Mads Melbye, MD, PhD

JAMA. 2003;290:1763-1766.

Context  Mercuric compounds are nephrotoxic and neurotoxic at high doses. Thimerosal, a preservative used widely in vaccine formulations, contains ethylmercury. Thus it has been suggested that childhood vaccination with thimerosal-containing vaccine could be causally related to neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

Objective  To determine whether vaccination with a thimerosal-containing vaccine is associated with development of autism.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Population-based cohort study of all children born in Denmark from January 1, 1990, until December 31, 1996 (N = 467 450) comparing children vaccinated with a thimerosal-containing vaccine with children vaccinated with a thimerosal-free formulation of the same vaccine.

Main Outcome Measures  Rate ratio (RR) for autism and other autistic-spectrum disorders, including trend with dose of ethylmercury.

Results  During 2 986 654 person-years, we identified 440 autism cases and 787 cases of other autistic-spectrum disorders. The risk of autism and other autistic-spectrum disorders did not differ significantly between children vaccinated with thimerosal-containing vaccine and children vaccinated with thimerosal-free vaccine (RR, 0.85 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.60-1.20] for autism; RR, 1.12 [95% CI, 0.88-1.43] for other autistic-spectrum disorders). Furthermore, we found no evidence of a dose-response association (increase in RR per 25 µg of ethylmercury, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.90-1.06] for autism and 1.03 [95% CI, 0.98-1.09] for other autistic-spectrum disorders).

Conclusion  The results do not support a causal relationship between childhood vaccination with thimerosal-containing vaccines and development of autistic-spectrum disorders.

Author Affiliations: Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, Department of Epidemiology Research (Messrs Hviid, Wohlfahrt, and Dr Melbye) and Medical Department (Dr Stellfeld), Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED LETTERS

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism

JAMA. ;291():180-180.
FULL TEXT  

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism

JAMA. ;291():180-180.
FULL TEXT  

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism--Reply
and
JAMA. ;291():180-181.
FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

What Should an Ideal Vaccine Postlicensure Safety System Be?
Griffin et al.
AJPH 2009;99:S345-S350.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Problem With Dr Bob's Alternative Vaccine Schedule
Offit and Moser
Pediatrics 2009;123:e164-e169.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Autism spectrum disorders: clinical and research frontiers
Caronna et al.
Arch. Dis. Child. 2008;93:518-523.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Continuing Increases in Autism Reported to California's Developmental Services System: Mercury in Retrograde
Schechter and Grether
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2008;65:19-24.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Developmental regression and autism reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
Woo et al.
Autism 2007;11:301-310.
ABSTRACT  

Autism: A Review of the State of the Science for Pediatric Primary Health Care Clinicians.
Barbaresi et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006;160:1167-1175.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pervasive Developmental Disorders in Montreal, Quebec, Canada: Prevalence and Links With Immunizations
Fombonne et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:e139-e150.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Contribution of Diagnostic Substitution to the Growing Administrative Prevalence of Autism in US Special Education
Shattuck
Pediatrics 2006;117:1028-1037.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Why Are Pharmaceutical Companies Gradually Abandoning Vaccines?
Offit
Health Aff (Millwood) 2005;24:622-630.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Incidence of Autism in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1976-1997: Results From a Population-Based Study
Barbaresi et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2005;159:37-44.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

MMR Vaccination and Febrile Seizures--Reply
Vestergaard et al.
JAMA 2004;292:2083-2084.
FULL TEXT  

Neurodevelopmental Disorders Following Thimerosal-Containing Childhood Immunizations: A Follow-Up Analysis
Geier and Geier
International Journal of Toxicology 2004;23:369-376.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Thimerosal Exposure in Infants and Developmental Disorders: A Retrospective Cohort Study in the United Kingdom Does Not Support a Causal Association
Andrews et al.
Pediatrics 2004;114:584-591.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Critical Review of Published Original Data
Parker et al.
Pediatrics 2004;114:793-804.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Vaccine Risk Perception Among Reporters of Autism After Vaccination: Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System 1990-2001
Woo et al.
AJPH 2004;94:990-995.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Other articles noted: 14 Nov 2003 to 30 Jan 2004
Evid. Based Nurs. 2004;7:e2-e2.
FULL TEXT  

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism
Rimland
JAMA 2004;291:180-180.
FULL TEXT  

Association Between Thimerosal-Containing Vaccine and Autism
Bernard
JAMA 2004;291:180-180.
FULL TEXT  

From the library
Br J Ophthalmol 2003;87:1532-1532.
FULL TEXT