Today it has been breaking news that the one study linking autism to childhood vaccinations was falsified. Yes, that is correct it was fraud. The study conducted in 1998 by British doctor Andrew Wakefield has been retracted from the Lancet. Apparently the doctor falsified information about the children in the study. Including the fact that 5 of the children had previously documented developmental problems prior to receiving vaccines. When this sole study was published, it caused the masses of people to stop vaccinating their children and many people were sure that it was the mercury in the vaccines causing autism. The scare caused the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend removing the mercury based preservative from vaccines. Since the removal of the preservative in virtually all vaccines in 2001, rates of autism still continue to rise at alarming rates.
Now that it has been brought to light that this study is false, it is time to start focusing on other possible and probable causes. Environmental factors are beginning to be looked at very closely and I suspect that now it will be studied much more. Some factors that are possible causes are; certain foods, infectious disease, heavy metals, diesel exhaust, PCB's, phthalates, brominated flame retardants, pesticides, and phenols used in making plastics, among other things. Researchers studied a group of children in Los Angeles and found that there was an increased risk for autism in mother's who gave birth that were living within 1000 feet of a freeway.¹ Another study in Swedish children found that children who lived in homes with vinyl flooring, which can emit phthalates, had an increased risk of autism.²
Given the amount of chemicals that our children our exposed to on a daily basis, inside and outside of our homes, I am not surprised that the rates of autism continue to climb. It is imperative that we try to protect our children as much as we can from the other possible causes. Many have believed since this study was published that it was vaccines, more than likely without paying any attention to other causes. While it is possible that vaccinations are a cause, it has not been proven and we cannot rule out other possibilities as more and more studies are showing us. To continue to not vaccinate our children on the sole basis of this falsified study, is potentially setting ourselves up for a resurgence of diseases that have almost all been eliminated from the population.
References:
¹ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20025991-10391704.html
² http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=link-between-autism-and-vinyl
It is Gena's passion to explore, research, and write about healthy living topics. Her concern for people and the planet are her driving force. Gena Marie writes a healthy living blog called Life Synergy at http://blog.genamarie.com/ Gena also has a online healthy living shop that carries natural, organic, and sustainable daily living products. Gena Marie Living Green at: http://www.genamarie.com/
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