Super fact 61 : An overwhelming body of scientific evidence has proven that vaccines do not cause autism. In addition, research shows that Tylenol (acetaminophen) is not a likely cause of autism.
Autism is a complex disorder caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. It is estimated that approximately 80-90% of the risk for autism is genetic. There are other factors that also increase the risk for autism such as advanced parental age, birth complications, and prenatal exposure to certain chemicals or infections. However, despite what many people believe, or have heard, vaccines (and Tylenol) is not one of them.
The belief that vaccines cause autism originated primarily from a single, fraudulent 1998 study published by Andrew Wakefield. The study falsely claimed a link between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism in 12 children. Since then, dozens of high-quality scientific studies, involving millions of children across multiple countries, have found no link between vaccines and autism. One Danish study involved 657,000 children. Leading global health organizations such as CDC, WHO, the American Academy of Pediatrics AAP, have affirmed this conclusion. You can read more about it here, and here, and here. In general, routine vaccines has been shown to be safe.
Some studies have shown minor associations between acetaminophen and autism, but association, or correlation, is not causality. Tylenol is often used more often in challenging pregnancies. Research shows no causal link between Tylenol and autism. This is what Nature, a prestigious, leading weekly scientific journal that publishes peer-reviewed research papers, says. You can read more here, here, and here.
If you focus on the medical research and what reputable medical associations say as opposed to social media memes, talk show hosts, and politicians say, it is obvious that this super fact is true. It is obviously important and yet a lot of people refuse to accept it, including a lot of people I personally know. That makes it a super fact. It is a true and important fact that is surprising or hard to accept for many people.
I try to avoid politics as much as possible in this blog but perhaps this post may seem political to some, but it really isn’t. It’s the government agencies, politicians, political think tanks and individuals who reject scientific evidence that does not support their agendas who are being overly political. Just presenting the facts does not make you political. Just like thermometers don’t have political parties (global warming) neither do statistical tools, DNA or viruses.
What about the Autism Epidemic?
It is true that autism diagnoses have increased by about 300% over the last 20 years. There are two main reasons for this increase. First, the definition of autism spectrum disorder has been broadened. Second, public health programs have increased screening that look for signs of autism at wellness visits for children ages 18–24 months. There is also an increased awareness about autism among parents and in society. The subgroup consisting of severe cases of autism has increased very little if at all. You can read more about that here.
However, it should also be noted that in addition to genetics, which is the major cause, certain factors such as higher parental age, air pollution, infections during pregnancy, obesity, diabetes, immune system disorders, low birthrate, extreme prematurity, are associated with an increased risk. Some of these factors have gotten worse. What is not the cause is vaccines. You can read more about that here, here, here, and here.
Related Super Facts
One of my super facts posts that is related to this post is:
Smallpox Killed 300 million People in the Last Century Before Eradication
There are also super facts that may not be directly related to this post but that share one particular feature with this super fact, and that is that they are frequent targets of denial, derision, mockery, and misrepresentation by some (or many) of our political leaders.
- Global Warming is Happening and is Caused by us
- EV Cars Indeed Emit Less Carbon Pollution
- Emissions of ozone-depleting gases have fallen by 99 Percent
- Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by 95 percent in the US
Super Facts 