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http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s907211.htm
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Tuesday, 22 July 2003
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A link between vaccines and autism is a false
alarm, a study suggests |
Fears that the incidence of autism is rising among children and that the MMR
vaccine is to blame are unfounded, according to new a study in a British
specialist journal.
A widespread perception, in Britain and some other countries, is that autism has
been on the rise since the early 1990s and that the surge has been triggered by
the single-shot MMR vaccine (aimed at measles, mumps and rubella).
The study in the journal,
Archives of Disease in Childhood, said there was indeed a statistical
rise in autism in the 1990s. But it found this was probably because doctors
became better at diagnosing the condition, and parents became more willing to
accept it than in the past, when the disorder was little known and a social
taboo
It also shot down notions that the MMR vaccine was to blame for a new form of
'regressive autism', possibly connected with bowel problems.
"The claims that MMR vaccine is involved in the initiation of autism, and/or
with regression, and/or with bowel problems associated with autism are not
associated with any credible scientific evidence," wrote Professor Brent Taylor
of London's Royal Free and
University College Medical School and colleagues.
Driving the nail home, he added: "There is compelling and increasing evidence
showing no association."
The findings were based on follow-up research of 567 London children born with
autism between 1979 and 1998. It determined that the number of new cases rose
between 1979 and 1992 and then levelled out from 1992 to 1996, reaching a
plateau of around 2.6 cases for every 1,000 live births.
In contrast, the number of parents who blamed the MMR vaccine for their child's
autism shot up after a controversial research paper, in August 1997, linked the
jab with bowel disease and what it described as a 'new variant' of regressive
autism.
The MMR jab was introduced in October 1998. Before the research paper was
issued, it was cited as a trigger in two out of 46 cases; afterwards, it was
cited in six out of 30 cases.
Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first
three years of life, resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the
functioning of the brain. But whether the cause is genetic or environmental is
unknown.
Autism and associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in two to six of
every 1,000 individuals. Males are four times more likely to have autism than
females.
Health & Medical . Environment & Nature . Space & Astronomy . Ancient Worlds . Innovation & Technology . Archives
©2003 ABC
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