Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence From Danish Population-Based Data

Madsen, Kathrine Bang; Lauritsen, Marlene Briciet; Pedersen, Carsten Bøcker; Thorsen, Poul; Plesner, Anne‐Marie; Andersen, Peter Henrik; Mortensen, Preben Bo

doi:10.1542/peds.112.3.604

Cited by 201 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…But the prevalence of NDs has continued to increase (Fombonne et al, Madsen KM et al,) even with the use of thimerosal free vaccines after the joint statement regarding thimerosal use in 1999, as must have been expected according to the results of these studies. 16,38 This observation diminishes the likelihood of any association of an increase in neurological abnormalities in children with exposure to thimerosal.…”

Section: Study Findings Conducted Bymentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on thimerosal: an irreplaceable element of long-term immunisation strategy in low income countries

Singla

Gupta

Kaur

2017

Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol

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Thimerosal, an organic-mercury (Hg) compound containing 49.55% Hg by weight, is added to vaccines as a preservative permitting formulation of multi-dose vaccine vials. Being a derivative of ethylmercury, it has been linked with autism as a possible risk factor based on the assumption that exposure to ethylmercury would have similar neurotoxic effects as another mercurial compound, methylmercury. In 1999, AAP issued a joint statement emphasising the removal of thimerosal from vaccines. Subsequently, several studies have been conducted; those showing positive association between thimerosal exposure and autism have been recognised to be fraught with methodological flaws. On the other hand, many well controlled studies have failed to find any such causal relation and there are others that have clearly demonstrated a much favourable kinetic profile of ethylmercury as compared to methylmercury. Owing to the lack of data, AAP retired its original statement in 2002. Recently, thimerosal has been exempted from regulation by Minamata Convention on Mercury resulting in the continued use of low cost thimerosal containing vaccines in low income countries which cannot afford to run their immunisation program using single dose thimerosal free vaccines, that comparatively cost much higher, as is the case in high income countries. Some bodies view this as a discrimination on the basis of wealth of a nation and have opposed this decision. This review presents various studies regarding the causal association between thimerosal containing vaccines and autism. The current evidence fails to support any such association. Hence this review supports the exemption of thimerosal from regulation and also justifies its use in LICs for uninterrupted vaccination of the most vulnerable population.

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Section: Study Findings Conducted Bymentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on thimerosal: an irreplaceable element of long-term immunisation strategy in low income countries

Singla

Gupta

Kaur

2017

Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol

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“…Autism Autism is exhibited in the lack of ability to form relationship and behave normally in young children of less than three years old. The ability of chemicals to possibly play a role in disrupting retinoids during the time of neural tube closure in the womb was posited by Madsen et al (2003) or rather a difference in metabolism could be the cause (Charman, 2002). Nonetheless, the important thing is what triggers the disorder and it is clear that an environmental factor is responsible (Stern and Smith, 2003) in addition to chemicals as the most likely candidates.…”

Section: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd)mentioning

confidence: 99%

<b>Impact of Endocrine Disruptions on Man: The likely Causes and Effects</b>

Getso¹,

Ibrahim²

2014

Bayero J. Pure App. Sci.

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It is now common knowledge that synthetic chemicals in the environment can find access into the body of humans and wildlife, thereby mimicking the action of endogenous hormones that regulate maintenance of normal growth, metabolism and reproduction. The chemicals able to do this are known as Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) which come from various sources ranging from household items to synthetic products and pharmaceuticals to plant derived estrogens. Although data linking cause and effect of the EDCs is extremely rare in humans owing to the fact that ethical issues would not allow for the use of humans as experimental models, yet a growing body of literature suggests a strong link between either pre-or postnatal exposure to environmental chemicals and observed adverse health outcomes. This review intends to bring together previous efforts to ascertain the impact of EDCs on human health, the missing research link and the possible precautionary strategies. This is important considering the magnitude of the adverse risks that exposure to endocrine disruptors might cause. Also, scientific uncertainty shall not delay precautionary action in reducing exposure to these chemicals as data available indicates transgenerational effects at population level due to chronic exposure to these chemicals.

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“…This severely biased the dataset, and it should not have been used to assign causality. Meanwhile, several other studies performed by various groups of researchers did not support the postulated association between thimerosal and ASDs [33,[105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112]. Three ecological studies were performed in 3 different countries comparing the incidence of autism with thimerosal exposure from vaccines [33,109,110].…”

Section: Insufficient Scientific Evidence Linking Thimerosal With Autismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In each case, thimerosal had been removed from childhood vaccines, allowing robust comparisons of vaccination with thimerosal-containing and thimerosal-free products. A large study from Denmark showed no difference in the incidence of autism among children who had received vaccines containing different amounts of thimerosal [109]. Despite the removal of thimerosal from vaccines in 1992 in Sweden and Denmark, the incidence of autism increased steadily from 1990 to 2000 [110].…”

Section: Insufficient Scientific Evidence Linking Thimerosal With Autismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vaccines and Autism – An Unlikely Connection

Chatterjee¹,

Moffatt²

2011

Autism - A Neurodevelopmental Journey From Genes to Behaviour

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Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence From Danish Population-Based Data

Abstract: The discontinuation of thimerosal-containing vaccines in Denmark in 1992 was followed by an increase in the incidence of autism. Our ecological data do not support a correlation between thimerosal-containing vaccines and the incidence of autism.

Cited by 201 publications

References 9 publications

A review on thimerosal: an irreplaceable element of long-term immunisation strategy in low income countries

A review on thimerosal: an irreplaceable element of long-term immunisation strategy in low income countries

<b>Impact of Endocrine Disruptions on Man: The likely Causes and Effects</b>

Vaccines and Autism – An Unlikely Connection

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