Vaccination rate lower for younger siblings of autistics

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ASPartOfMe
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Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
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15 Sep 2017, 12:41 am

Vaccination Rates among Younger Siblings of Children with Autism

Quote:
Since 2009, we have tracked the development of infants who have a full biologic older sibling with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The risk of this disorder is increased by a factor of approximately 20 among these “high-risk” infants.1 Our comparisons of such infants with age-matched “low-risk” infants who have an older sibling without autism spectrum disorder allows for the identification of putative biomarkers of this disorder.2 Although vaccination behaviors were not our primary focus, studies showing decreased rates of vaccination against measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) among high-risk infants prompted us to analyze available data on vaccination behaviors in our sample of 206 families from southern California (71 of which had a child with autism spectrum disorder and 135 that did not have a child with autism spectrum disorder

Families with children who had autism spectrum disorder were less likely to vaccinate subsequent children. Specifically, the rate of vaccination among full biologic infant siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder was 83.1%, as compared with 97.0% among low-risk infants (Pearson chi-square value with one degree of freedom, 12.62; P<0.001). These findings are consistent with reported rates of MMR vaccination among children at older ages and across broader sampling regions.

In particular, parents who had an older child with autism spectrum disorder retrospectively reported a higher rate of adverse reactions to vaccination among the older child than did those who did not have an older child with autism (22.6% vs. 3.8%; Pearson chi-square value with one degree of freedom, 16.87; P<0.001). Likewise, parents who had an older child with autism retrospectively reported a higher rate of these reactions among the infant sibling than did those who did not have an older child with autism (6.9% vs. 0.8%; Pearson chi-square value with one degree of freedom, 5.87; P=0.02). Reported reactions included fever, diarrhea, unusual crying or screaming, and general malaise. These differences in reported reactions may reflect either a true increase or a recall bias, and they warrant larger prospective studies of adverse reactions to vaccine with the use of more objective measures, such as medical records and examination after vaccination, in children in whom autism spectrum disorder ultimately develops.


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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity

“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman