MMR vaccination and autism in Danish children

摘要

Oncerns about a possible link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism started with a now discredited and retracted paper published in 1998 (Lancet 1998; 351:637-641). Subsequently, multiple studies have found no causal association between the MMR vaccine and autism. To further evaluate the safety of the MMR vaccine, researchers used Danish population registries to compare risks for autism among a cohort of 657,000 MMR- vaccinated and MMR-unvaccinated children born from 1999 to 2010. The Danish childhood vaccination program is voluntary and free of charge. Children with an autistic sibling or medical conditions that predisposed them to autism were targeted in the analysis.