Thimerosal exposure and disturbance of emotions specific to childhood and adolescence: A case-control study in the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) database
David A. Geier, Janet K. Kern, Kristin G. Homme & Mark R. Geier
ABSTRACT
Background: This study evaluated Thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines and the risk of a diagnosis called disturbance of emotions specific to childhood and adolescence (ED). Thimerosal is an organic-mercury (Hg)-containing compound used in some vaccines.
Methods: A hypothesis-testing prospective, longitudinal case-control study evaluated Hg exposure from Thimerosal in hepatitis B vaccines administered at specific times within the first 6 months of life and its association with medically diagnosed ED (313.xx) (n = 517) in children born between 1991–2000 in comparison to controls (n = 27 491) in the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) Dublin Painting Pros site database.
Results: Cases diagnosed with ED were significantly more likely than controls to have received increased Hg exposure within the first month of life (odds ratio (OR) = 1.3384), the first 2 months of life (OR = 1.3367) and the first 6 months of life (OR = 2.37). When the data were separated by gender, similar significant adverse effects were observed for males, but not females designer fashion consignments. On a per microgram Hg basis, cases diagnosed with ED were significantly more likely than controls to have received increased exposure within the first 6 months of life (OR = 1.025 per microgram Hg).
Conclusions: The results show a significant relationship between Hg exposure from Thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines and the subsequent risk of an ED diagnosis.
PMID: 28102704
Click for REFERENCES:
- HiDoctor’98: The New Generation of Medical Software. International Classification of Diseases [Internet]. [cited 20 Feb 2016]. Available from http://www.centralx.com/diseases/icd286.htm.
- Wagner M, Kutash K, Duchnowski AJ, Epstein MH, Sumi WC. The children and youth we serve: a national picture of the characteristics of students with emotional disturbances receiving special education.
- Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 2005;13:79–96.[CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Wagner M, Newman L. Longitudinal transition outcomes of youth with emotional disturbances. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal 2012;35:199–208.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Schettler T. Toxic threats to neurologic development of children. Environmental Health Perspectives 2001;109(Suppl 6):813–816.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Kern JK, Haley BE, Geier DA, Sykes LK, King PG, Geier MR. Thimerosal exposure and the role of sulfation chemistry and thiol availability in autism. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 2013;10:3771–3800.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Bigham M, Copes R. Thiomersal in vaccines: balancing the risk of adverse effects with the risk of vaccine-preventable disease. Drug Safety 2005;28:89–101.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Chen RT, DeStefano F, Davis RL, Jackson LA, Thompson RS, Mullooly JP, Black SB, Shinefield HR. Vadheim CM, Ward JI, March SM. The Vaccine Safety Datalink: immunization research in health maintenance organizations in the USA. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2000;78:186–194.[PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Chen RT, Glasser JW, Rhodes PH, Davis RL, Barlow WE, Thompson RS, Mullooly JP, Black SB, Shinefield HR, Vadheim CM, Marcy SM, Ward JI, Wise RP, Wassilak SG, Halder SC. Vaccine Safety Datalink project: a new tool for improving vaccine safety monitoring in the United States> The Vaccine Safety Datalink Team. Pediatrics 1997;99:765–773.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Wassilak SG, Glasser JW, Chen RT, Hadler SC. Utility of large-linked databases in vaccine safety, particularly in distinguishing independent and synergistic effects. The Vaccine Safety Talink Investigators. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1995;754:377–82.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Young HA, Geier DA, Geier MR. Thimerosal exposure in infants and neurodevelopmental disorders: an assessment of computerized medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink. Journal of the Neurological Sciences 2008;271:110–118.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Haut MW, Morrow LA, Pool D, Callahan TS, Haut JS, Franzen MD. Neurobehavioral effects of acute exposure to inorganic mercury vapor. Applied Neuropsychology 1999;6:193–200.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Google Scholar]
- Rossini SR, Reimao R, Lefevre Bh, Medrado-Faria MA. Chronic insomnia in workers poisoned by inorganic mercury: psychological and adaptive aspects. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria 2000;58:32–38.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Powell TJ. Chronic neurobehavioural effects of mercury poisoning on a group of Zulu chemical workers. Brain Injury 2000;14:797–814.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
Olczak M, Duszczyk M, Mierzejewski P, Meyza K, Majewska MD. Persistent behavioral impairments and alterations of brain dopamine system after early postnatal administration of Thimerosal in rats. Behavioral Brain Research 2011;223:107–118.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar] - Li X, Qu F, Xie W, Wang F, Liu H, Song S, Chen T, Zhang Y, Zhu S, Wang Y, Guo C, Tang TS. Transcriptomic analyses of neurotoxic effects in mouse brain after intermittent neonatal administration of Thimerosal. Toxicological Sciences 2014;139:482–465.[CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Curtis JT, Hood AN, Chen Y, Cobb GP, Wallace DR. Chronic metals ingestion by prairie voles produces sex-specific deficits in social behavior: an animal model of autism. Behavioral Brain Research 2010;213:42–49.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Verstraeten T, Davis RL, DeStefano F, Lieu TA Rhodes PH, Black SB, Shinefield H, Chen RT; Vaccine Safety Datalink Team. Safety of thimerosal-containing vaccines: a two-phased study of computerized health maintenance organization databases. Pediatrics 2003;112:1039–1048. [Google Scholar]
- Khan A, Sulkowski ZL, Chen T, Zavacki AM, Sajdel-Sulkowska EM. Sex-dependent changes in cerebellar thyroid hormone-dependent gene expression following perinatal exposure to thimerosal in rats. Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology 2012;63:277–283.[PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Sulkowski ZL, Chen T, Midha S, Zavacki AM, Sajdel-Sulkowska EM. Maternal thimerosal exposure results in aberrant cerebellar oxidative stress, thyroid hormone metabolism, and motor behavior in rat pups; sex- and strain dependent effects. Cerebellum 2012;11:575–586.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Branch DR. Gender-selective toxicity of thimerosal. Experimental & Toxicology Pathology 2009;61:133–136.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Geier DA, Kern JK, Hooker BS, King PG, Sykes LK, Geier MR. A longitudinal cohort study of the relationship between Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccination and specific delays in development in the United States: assessment of attributable risk and lifetime care costs. Journal of Epidemiology & Global Health 2016;6:105–118.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Thompson WW, Price C, Goodson B, Shay DK, Benson P, Hinrichsen VL, Lewis E, Eriksen E, Ray P, Marcy SM, Dunn J, Jackson LA, Lieu TA, Black S, Stewart G, Weintraub ES, Davis RL, DeStefano F; Vaccine Safety Datalink Team. Early thimerosal exposure and neuropsychological outcomes at 7 to 10 years. New England Journal of Medicine 2007;357:1281–1292. [Google Scholar]
- Barile JP, Kuperminc GP, Weintraub ES, Mink JW, Thompson WW. Thimerosal exposure in early life and neuropsychological outcomes 7-10 years later. Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2012;37:106–118.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Geier DA, Hooker BS, Kern JK, King PG, Sykes LK, Geier MR. A two-phase cohort study of the relationship between Thimerosal-containing vaccine administration as a risk factor for an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in the United States. Translational Neurodgeneration 2013;2:25.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Google Scholar]
- Geier DA, Hooker BS, Kern JK, King PG, Sykes LK, Homme KG, Geier MR. A dose-response relationship between organic mercury exposure from Thimerosal-containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health 2014;11:9156–9170.[CrossRef], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
- Sukumaran L, McCarthy NL, Li R, Weintraub ES, Jacobsen SJ Hambidge SJ, Jackson LA, Naleway AL, Chan B, Tao B, Gee J. Demographic characteristics of members of the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD): a comparison with the United States population. Vaccine 2015;33:4446–4450. [Google Scholar]
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hepatitis B virus: a comprehensive strategy for eliminating transmission in the United States through universal childhood vaccination. Recommendations of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP). MMWR Recommendations & Reports 1991;40:1–25.
- Geier MR, Geier DA. The state of polio vaccination in the world: the case for continuing routine vaccination. Toxicology Mechanisms & Methods 2002;12:221–228. [Google Scholar]