Autism and vaccines studies

[Karamom]

I seems like every pro-vaccine article I read has some expert saying there have been multiple studies done that prove there is no link between vaccines and autism. Is this true? What studies are they talking about? TIA

[Gitti]

Yes, they did do study after study to try and prove that the MMR vax doesn't cause autisms. I think there have been 21 studies so far. But none have proven that the MMR did NOT cause autism. And they have nothing that does cause it conclusively.

The question is why so many studies? If it is so clear, couldn't one study prove it conclusively?

The reason why they did so many is that if you are not satisfied with one, they can send you on to the next and to the next....they are trying to wear us out.

In reality none of the studies have proven anything conclusive. And don't forget, if they want to prove that TV, cold hearted moms, peanut butter, or the spaghetti monster cause autism, believe me, they can. It all depends on who is funding the study.

Here is one study and the faults thereof -

http://www.putchildrenfirst.org/chapter6.html

[kiara7]

There was one study (the main one I think, can't remember the name) where they excluded 60% of participants for one reason or another and said see, MMR doesn't cause autism.

[Gitti]

Maybe this is the same one?

http://www.putchildrenfirst.org/media/5.8.pdf

[runes]

This is a really timely piece with lots of info:

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/01/c...ungry-lie.html

It is a bit long, and it will make your blood boil, but absolutely a must read.

[armychicmkm]

There are several studies that "prove" there is a link and several studies that "prove" there is no link. Unfortunately, IMO none of those studies were actually good research. The ones that prove there is no link are mostly conducted by the pharmeceutical companies that make the vaccines and the ones that I've read that show there is a link only took a very small sample sizes and all from remote areas.

ETA: the studies I've read have been specifically about the MMR.

[Marnica]

Here is the #1 reason why all of those studies do not "prove" there is no link between vaccines and Autism. They are all epidemiolgical studies.
Epidemiological studies can never prove causation; they cannot prove that a specific risk factor actually causes the disease being studied. Epidemiological evidence can only show that this risk factor is associated (correlated) with a higher incidence of disease in the population exposed to that risk factor. The higher the correlation the more certain the association, but it cannot prove the causation. In addition these types of studies are also the most easily manipulated by biases and likely to be flawed.
Here is an example: "the discovery of the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer was based on comparisons of lung cancer rates in smokers and non-smokers. The rates of lung cancer are much higher in smokers than in non-smokers. Does this prove that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer? No. In order to prove that cigarette smoking is the factor causing this increase in lung cancer, it was necessary to expose animals to tobacco smoke and tobacco smoke extracts. This was done under highly controlled conditions where the only difference between the controls (animals not exposed to smoke) and treated animals was the exposure to smoke. These laboratory studies proved the causal association between smoking and increased risk of cancer."

So the ONLY way to prove that Autism is either caused or NOT caused by vaccines is to do a controlled study of vaccinated and unvaccinated children over many years. No study like this has ever been done. The powers that be don't want it done because it could be poten tially devastating to the vaccine industry. Can you imagine if a study like this was done and it was found that vaccines DO cause autism? The governemtn would have to take responsibility for the lies and propaganda that it has been spewing out for the last dozen years. Like that will ever happen!

[applejuice]

How about comparing the Amish community or a Christian Science Group (that is for the most part, unvaxed) with the rest of vaccinated Pennsylvania, matching for racial, health, socio-economic and other factors and compare the results?

Or is that too simplistic?

[xmasbaby7]

Remember that there was a bill introduced in Congress by Rep Maloney of NY to tun a federally funded study comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children.

Obviously it hasn't passed in either chamber yet, but it is an encouraging start to know that enough people in DC are aware that it is the first step in addressing the problem.

I lobbied my congressman to co-sponsor the bill and YOU SHOULD, TOO!

[PenelopeJune]

I think they get confused. There haven't been any studies that prove that there IS a connection with vaccines and autism. I think they take that to mean that there is proof that there isn't a connection.

My doctor said the same thing to me, that "they" have disproved the connection between autism and vaccination. I don't argue with him, but now I wish I would have asked where I could find these studies.

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by Marnica

Can you imagine if a study like this was done and it was found that vaccines DO cause autism?

This is a great post. I just want to clarify this point because as an advocate of natural living and being adamantly anti-vax myself I think we get further in our cause if we are clear. Vaccines do NOT cause autism. If they did every single person who was vaccinated would be autistic. Vaccines can push a predisposed person ( with a high level of toxins....inherited or acquired) into autism because they can easily tip the scales.

It's hard for me to continually hear the "vaccines cause autism" argument because anyone who is on the fence or pro-vax can point to people that are vaxxed and aren't autistic.

But otherwise I agree completely with the post.

[peainthepod]

Originally Posted by Panserbjørne

This is a great post. I just want to clarify this point because as an advocate of natural living and being adamantly anti-vax myself I think we get further in our cause if we are clear. Vaccines do NOT cause autism. If they did every single person who was vaccinated would be autistic. Vaccines can push a predisposed person ( with a high level of toxins....inherited or acquired) into autism because they can easily tip the scales.

It's hard for me to continually hear the "vaccines cause autism" argument because anyone who is on the fence or pro-vax can point to people that are vaxxed and aren't autistic.

But otherwise I agree completely with the post.

Just because something is not guaranteed to cause a disease in every person exposed to it doesn't mean that it doesn't cause the disease. I am someone who believes that vaccines DO cause autism (among a host of other causes), just like smoking tobacco DOES cause lung cancer (among a host of other causes).

Not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer. But smoking cigarettes does cause lung cancer. In the same way, not everyone who is vaccinated will have autism. But vaccines can cause autism.

Does that make sense? Maybe it's just semantics at that point, but I believe it's important to recognize autism as a significant risk when deciding whether or not to vaccinate (not that it's the only risk, of course).

[Panserbjorne]

It may be semantics There is a broad spectrum that does need to be considered here. Vaccines *can* cause autism in a person who is already susceptible. IF we are going to get down to it, this becomes relevant when we understand just how many people are susceptible. ALOT.

I just personally dont' like sweeping statements as I feel that it takes credibility away from a very serious issue. Sugar caused mineral depletion. This is true in everyone so it's a statement I'm fine with. To take it back to vaccines, vaccines contain serious toxins. That is true. Vaccines impair the nervous system and adversely affect the immune system. True. Vaccines cause autism. Not exactly true. It may seem like semantics, but it's a pretty important point, *to me.*

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by peainthepod

Just because something is not guaranteed to cause a disease in every person exposed to it doesn't mean that it doesn't cause the disease.

I guess just for the sake of full disclosure I will say that I dont' believe in the above statement. No one thing generally does cause disease. There are almost always a whole lot of factors at play.

[Super Glue Mommy]

I believe vaccines can trigger predispositioned people who would not have otherwise exhibited autistic like tendancies had they not received the vaccine. This is because my son was "normal" (actually, he quite advanced) until he got his MMR vaccine. then it was downhill from there. and MAY parents experience this same thing. It has nothing to do with age as some people get the vaccine at a year, some at 15 months, some at 18 months, some later. some kids have had this reaction to the measles only portion of the vaccine. I feel the risks outweigh the benefits and this is why I don't vaccinate anymore. If someone else wants to vaccinate then I don't care. I can respect that they came to a different conclusion then I did, and I sincerely hope none of them end up in the same boat I did. I used to think the non-vaxxers were crazy. I only educated myself on the pro-vaccine side. I often blame myself for this because I was stubborn and ignorant. Had I been more open minded I would have educated myself on both sides. I cannot say for sure that means I would have made a different decision (though I believe I would have, it's unfair to say im not biased though at this point)... but at least it would have been a truly educated decision... for me it was not, and my day to day life is harder because of it... i do believe it was the vaccine... this is only one of the many reasons I realize its not a good idea to vaccinate though - there seems to be so much media coverage on this that other things are getting overlooked. Such as the fact they have only studied the effectiveness and safety of each shot seperately - though the shots are often given in conjunction with other shots. I am no chemist, but that seems irresponsible to do... you are injecting these things into the blood stream, where they will mix, when you have no evidence of the safety of that combination of ingredients... not to mention when it comes to effectiveness you can only say how effective it is for a population as a whole, not for an individual. It very well could be 50/50 that a vaccine will work then not work, but that it "worked" for 90% of people. Just like I could flip a coin and get tails 9 times out of 10, but it's still a 50/50 shot every time I flip the coin. And how often do they resample these statistics? what about the fact that some vaccines it has been shown that kids who are vaccinated against a disease contracted the disease more then another group who was not vaccinated? there are way too many variables, and I agree, they spin the results in such a way that helps revenue and protects the vaccine company and government. Taking the SAME statistics from the SAME source (CDC pink book) a person can often give the complete opposite spin to the information, proving with their OWN research that vaccines are unsafe and ineffective.... the SAME information, shared differently. Sorry to go off on a tangent I just don't understand how it is a "right" for a parent to HIT their child, but they are trying to stop the right NOT to inject them with chemicals? it's just very backwards to me...

[just_lily]

Originally Posted by kidspiration

This is a really timely piece with lots of info:

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/01/c...ungry-lie.html

It is a bit long, and it will make your blood boil, but absolutely a must read.

That is a great article. Thanks.