| Childhood shots not linked to diabetes
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There is no evidence that childhood
vaccinations increase the risk of type 1 diabetes, also known as
insulin-dependent diabetes, according to results of a study in Denmark.
The fact that diabetes rates increased after the widespread introduction
of childhood vaccines has led to the theory that such vaccines may
cause diabetes, Anders Hviid and colleagues explain in this week's
New England Journal of Medicine. While there's never been any strong
evidence to support this idea, few studies have addressed it.
The research team, based at Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen,
followed all children born in Denmark between 1990 and 2000. Data
regarding diabetes diagnosis were obtained from the Danish National
Hospital register, while vaccination dates were provided by the
National Board of Health.
Among the nearly 740,000 children, there were 681 cases of type
1 diabetes. The risk of diabetes in vaccinated children was comparable
to that seen in unvaccinated children, the investigators found.
The results were also negative when the analysis was restricted
to children who had brothers or sisters with diabetes.
"This study will, one hopes, be the last one that is necessary
to disprove an association between immunization and diabetes,"
Dr. Lynne L. Levitsky, of Harvard Medical School, Boston, writes
in an accompanying editorial.
"The scientific community should now move on to the most important
tasks: identifying the genetic, immunologic, and environmental phenomena
that are actually responsible for the development of diabetes and
finding the means to prevent and treat this chronic disorder,"
Levitsky adds.
SOURCE: The New England Journal of Medicine, April 1, 2004.
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