Some problems with the study: 1) Too small a sample. 2) Many of those in the sample would not have received the MMR because they were born too early to have received it (making the already small sample even smaller re: finding any link
Some questions about the study: IBD appears to be classified separately from Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis. Is that true? How did that affect cases and controls? Were non-IBD classified cases with either Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis included in the controls, thereby confounding the results? Who were the controls? Did any of them have autism, but no IBD? What was the time “immediate” time period? Were there cases of IBD, Crohn’s Disease or ulcerative colitis not immediately post vaccination that could have been caused by the vaccine(s)? - SM
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/issues/current/abs/poa00463.html
March 2001
Measles-Mumps-Rubella and Other Measles-Containing Vaccines Do Not Increase
the Risk for Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Robert L. Davis, MD, MPH; Piotr Kramarz, MD; Kari Bohlke, ScD; Patti Benson, MPH; Robert S. Thompson, MD; John Mullooly, PhD; Steve Black, MD;
Henry Shinefield, MD; Edwin Lewis, MPH; Joel Ward, MD; S. Michael Marcy,
MD; Eileen Eriksen, MPH; Frank Destefano, MD, MPH; Robert Chen, MD; for the
Vaccine Safety Datalink Team
Context A link between measles virus–containing vaccines and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been suggested by recent studies.
Objective To address whether receipt or timing of measles-containing vaccine (MCV) increases risk for IBD.
Design A case-control study.
Setting Four large health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that are part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Safety Datalink project.
Patients or Other Participants A total of 155 persons with codes from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision specific for IBD, born between 1958 and 1989 and enrolled from birth to the onset of disease, were identified. Up to 5 controls were matched by sex, HMO, and birth year.
Intervention None.
Main Outcome Measures Risk for IBD, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.
Results Past vaccination was not associated with an increased risk for Crohn’s disease (odds ratio [OR] for measles-mumps-rubella vaccine [MMR], 0.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.08-2.0), ulcerative colitis (OR, 0.8;
95% CI, 0.18-3.56), or IBD (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.21-1.68). Risk for IBD was not increased among children vaccinated who were younger than 12 months (OR for MMR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.15-2.45) or aged 12 to 18 months (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.28-2.59) relative to unvaccinated children. Children vaccinated with MMR who were older than 18 months were at significantly decreased risk for IBD (OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.04-0.68). Neither past vaccination nor age at vaccination with other MCV was associated with increased risk for Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or IBD. Risk for Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or IBD was not elevated in the time immediately following vaccination with either vaccine.
Conclusions Vaccination with MMR or other MCV, or the timing of vaccination early in life, did not increase the risk for IBD.
From the Departments of Pediatrics (Dr Davis), University of Washington School of Medicine, and Epidemiology (Dr Davis), University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle, and the Center for Health Studies (Drs Davis, Bohlke, and Thompson and Ms Benson), Group Health Cooperative, Seattle; the Vaccine Safety and Development Branch (Drs Kramarz, Destefano, and Chen), National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga; the Center for Health Research (Dr Mullooly), Northwest Kaiser Permanente, Portland, Ore; the Division of Research (Drs Black and Shinefield and Mr Lewis), Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, Oakland; the UCLA Center for Vaccine Research (Dr Ward and Ms Eriksen), Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance; and the Kaiser-UCLA Vaccine Research Group (Dr Marcy), Southern California Kaiser Permanente, Panorama City.
Corresponding author and reprints: Robert L. Davis, MD, MPH, Immunization Studies Program, Center for Health Studies Group Health Cooperative, 1730 Minor Ave, Suite 1600, Seattle, WA 98101-1448. Accepted for publication December 28, 2000.
This study was supported by contract 200-95-0947 (the VSD [Vaccine Safety Datalink] project) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
© 2001 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
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