Study: MMR Vaccine Doesn't Cause Autism
Autism Cases Jump In Past Two Decades
POSTED: 9:47 a.m. EST November 7, 2002
BOSTON -- A large study offers reassuring evidence that the widely used measles, mumps and rubella vaccine does not cause autism, as some fear.
A study of more than 500,000 children in Denmark showed the risk of autism was the same for those who got the vaccine and those who did not. The results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Some have speculated that the measles portion of the vaccine might trigger autism. Autism often becomes apparent during the second or third year of life, around the same time the shots are given. However, several large careful studies have turned up no proof of this.
A commentary in the journal says the relation of MMR vaccination and the appearance of autism is a coincidence.
Autism cases have jumped in the past two decades, but some experts point to better recognition of the disease rather than a true increase in its occurrence.
A study of more than 500,000 children in Denmark showed the risk of autism was the same for those who got the vaccine and those who did not. The results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Some have speculated that the measles portion of the vaccine might trigger autism. Autism often becomes apparent during the second or third year of life, around the same time the shots are given. However, several large careful studies have turned up no proof of this.
A commentary in the journal says the relation of MMR vaccination and the appearance of autism is a coincidence.
Autism cases have jumped in the past two decades, but some experts point to better recognition of the disease rather than a true increase in its occurrence.
Copyright 2002 by Lifewhile.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
