Autism and Vaccine - 1991
- Vaccine Affect
- Feb 21
- 1 min read
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 1991
Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press
"The disorder, termed autism by Kanner in 1943, is characterized as having its onset before age 30 months.
Prevalence rates of autism are estimated to be between 4 and 5 per 100,000 children under age 15 years (Wing et al., 1976).
All studies report a higher incidence in males, with a male:female sex ratio on the order of 3:1 to 4:1 (Wing, 1981); however, girls as a group may be more severely affected (Volkmar and Cohen, 1986).
The committee identified no case reports or other studies of autism following pertussis immunization. The sources examined include the CDC's MSAEFI system, which received no reports of autism (ICD 9 code 299.0) occurring within 28 days of DPT immunization from 1978 to 1990.
The lack of reports of cases within 28 days of DPT immunization is not surprising, however, given that a diagnosis of autism is difficult, if not impossible, before age 3 years.
Summary
No data were identified that address the question of a relation between vaccination with DPT or its pertussis component and autism."
