To vaccinate or not, this causes a lot of controversy among parents. However, there is growing evidence that vaccinations are not a cause for autism. The latest research found that autism has been diagnosed more, but what fell under the autism spectrum has shifted as well.
In a study done in Denmark, data was collected for over half a million children born between 1980 and 1991, until they either had an autism diagnosis or reached the study end date in December 2011. The data showed that the number of children diagnosed with autism increased since the mid 90’s. There were significant changes in autism diagnosis criteria.
The fact that over 600,000 children were part of the study makes this a significant study. Consider that only 12 kids were included in the 1998 “study” by Andrew Wakefield that said childhood vaccines could causes autism. The Wakefield study was discredited. The researchers found that the 60% increase in the children diagnosed with autism could be attributed to changes in what constitutes autism.
“This study is important because it shows a large part of the increase has nothing to do with the environment, but rather administrative decisions,” says study author Stefan Hansen of Aarhus University in Denmark.
The bottom line is that vaccines save lives and parents can trust most medical doctors and experts.
