Once the question was raised about whether the MMR vaccine might trigger autism in some children, even mounting evidence to the contrary had not put fears to rest. The vaccine rate has plummeted since the study, while autism continues to rise. But a study of over 500,000 Danish children published in the November 7, 2002 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine offers powerful reasons to relax. Even though some children did develop autism in the days following the MMR vaccine, this was no more common than on any other days in childhood -- there was no clustering at all. Even more impressive is the comparison between the children who got the MMR versus those that never did. Autism was more common among the unvaccinated children! This was even more true for other autism-spectrum disorders. We must learn what in our environment is triggering the rise of autism, but I can't see a reason any longer to suspect the MMR as a cause.

Alan Greene MD FAAP

November 8, 2002

March 4, 2004

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