Vaccines, Thimerosal, and Neuropsychological Outcomes

The lack of any consistent association between mercury exposure and neurodevelopmental outcome is very reassuring.

Is early exposure to thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative in vaccines, associated with neurodevelopmental deficits in children, specifically autism? In a U.S. multisite observational cohort study, investigators examined thimerosal exposure during the first 7 months of life and 42 neuropsychological outcomes at age 7 to 10 years in 1047 children with complete vaccination records. Estimates of mercury exposure included the mothers’ exposure to vaccines and immunoglobulins during pregnancy, and prenatal fish consumption.

Cumulative exposure to mercury from thimerosal from birth to 7 months ranged from 0 to 187.5 μg. After controlling for numerous confounding variables (including maternal IQ, socioeconomic indicators, and home environme…

Reviewing Author

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)

Howard Bauchner, MD

Disclosures

Grant / research supportHuman Resources and Services Administration; NIH; NIH-NHLBI; USDA; GlaxoSmithKline

Editorial boardsArchives of Disease in Childhood (Editor-in-Chief)