International Meeting for Autism Research: Immunization Beliefs and Practices Among Autism Families

Immunization Beliefs and Practices Among Autism Families

Friday, May 21, 2010
Franklin Hall B Level 4 (Philadelphia Marriott Downtown)
9:00 AM
P. Law , Medical Informatics, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
J. K. Law , Medical Informatics, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
R. E. Rosenberg , Medical Informatics, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
C. Anderson , Medical Informatics, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD
C. Samango-Sprouse , Pediatrics, George Washington University, Washington, DC
Background:   There is public concern about a link between routine childhood vaccines and adverse neurological outcomes, specifically the autism spectrum disorders (ASD), focusing on vaccine thimerosal content; measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and intestinal disease; and perceived immunologic burden of vaccines.  Direct quantitative impact of this controversy on families with ASD-affected children has not been extensively evaluated.

Objectives:   The objective of this study was to survey and analyze vaccination beliefs and practices among families who have at least one child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods: Data on 2090 children with ASD and 1151 unaffected siblings provided by 1974 families was used to examine individual, family, and secular factors associated with vaccine-related beliefs about ASD and immunization practices among affected individuals and younger siblings, using ordinal and multinomial logistic regression.

Results:   Roughly half of families believed that there “may be” (29.9%) or “definitely is” (15.3%) a link between a child’s ASD and immunizations. Odds of increasing belief were associated with increasing severity of a child’s skill loss (OR range, 2.2 - 4.9; p<.001) and lower maternal education status (graduate degree, OR .48, p<.05). Overall proportion of families omitting or delaying vaccination of initial childhood series was higher among siblings born after older siblings first showed developmental signs (24.5%), especially in the case of measles-mump-rubella vaccine (19.6%). Degree of belief, higher maternal education, and younger cohort were significantly correlated with delaying and/or omitting vaccines in younger siblings in the multinomial logistic regression model.  Maternal education was also correlated with changing providers.

Conclusions:   Belief in a vaccine-autism link and vaccination practices vary widely among families of children with ASD.  Pediatricians should be prepared to explore vaccine-autism beliefs and provide in-depth guidance regarding vaccinations for such families; further research focusing on the experiences and concerns of these families is needed.

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