no relationship between MMR vaccine and autism

· MMR vaccine protects children against dangerous, even deadly,
diseases.
· Because signs of autism may appear at around the same time
children receive the MMR vaccine, some parents may worry that the
vaccine causes autism.
· Carefully performed scientific studies have found no relationship
between MMR vaccine and autism.
· The CDC continues to recommend two doses of MMR vaccine for all
children.
Additional Facts
· MMR is a combination vaccine that protects children from measles,
mumps, and rubella (also known as German measles). The first dose of
the vaccine is usually given to children 12 to 15 months old. The
second dose is usually given between 4 and 6 years of age.
· In 1998, a study of autistic children raised the question of a
connection between MMR vaccine and autism.
· The 1998 study has a number of limitations. For example, the study
was very small, involving only 12 children. This is too few cases to
make any generalizations about the causes of autism. In addition,
the researchers suggested that MMR vaccination caused bowel problems
in the children, which then led to autism. However, in some of the
children studied, symptoms of autism appeared before symptoms of
bowel disease.

In 2004, 10 of the 13 authors of the 1998 study retracted the
study's interpretation. The authors stated that the data were not
able to establish a causal link between MMR vaccine and autism.

Other larger studies have found no relationship between MMR vaccine
and autism. For example, researchers in the UK studied the records
of 498 children with autism born between 1979 and 1998. They found:
the percentage of children with autism who received MMR vaccine was
the same as the percentage of unaffected children in the region who
received MMR vaccine
there was no difference in the age of diagnosis of autism in
vaccinated and unvaccinated children
the onset of "regressive" symptoms of autism did not occur within 2,
4, or 6 months of receiving the MMR vaccine.

Groups of experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics,
agree that MMR vaccine is not responsible for recent increases in
the number of children with autism. In 2004, a report by the
Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that there is no association
between autism and MMR vaccine or vaccines that contain thimerosal
as a preservative. 

There is no published scientific evidence showing that there is any
benefit to separating the combination MMR vaccine into three
individual shots.
For more information

For information on Autism Spectrum Disorders -
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/ddautism.htm 

For in-depth information on the MMR and autism theory
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/concerns/autism/autism-mmr.htm 

National Immunization Hotline:
English (800) 232-2522
Spanish (800) 232-0233