Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan 12;15(1):123.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph15010123.

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Association between Infant Hepatitis B Vaccine Exposure in Boys and the Risk of Adverse Effects as Measured by Receipt of Special Education Services

David A Geier  1   2 , Janet K Kern  3   4   5 , Kristin G Homme  6 , Mark R Geier  7   8
Affiliations

A Cross-Sectional Study of the Association between Infant Hepatitis B Vaccine Exposure in Boys and the Risk of Adverse Effects as Measured by Receipt of Special Education Services

David A Geier et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The National Center for Education Statistics reported that between 1990-2005 the number of children receiving special education services (SES) rose significantly, and then, from 2004-2012, the number declined significantly. This coincided with the introduction of Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine in 1991, and the subsequent introduction of Thimerosal-reduced hepatitis B vaccine in the early 2000s. This study examined the potential relationship between infant exposure to mercury from three doses of Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine and the risk of boys being adversely affected (as measured by receipt of SES). This cross-sectional study examined 1192 boys (weighted n = 24,537,123) 7-8 years of age (born: 1994-2007) from the combined 2001-2014 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES). Survey logistic regression modeling revealed that an exposed population receiving three doses of infant Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine (weighted n = 11,186,579), in comparison to an unexposed population (weighted n = 704,254), were at an increased risk of receipt of SES. This association was robust (crude odds ratio = 10.143, p = 0.0232), even when considering covariates, such as race and socioeconomic status (adjusted odds ratio = 9.234, p = 0.0259). Survey frequency modeling revealed that receipt of SES for the population that was exposed to three doses of Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine in infancy (12.91%) was significantly higher than the unexposed population (1.44%) (prevalence ratio = 8.96, p = 0.006, prevalence attributable rate = 0.1147). Despite the limitation of this cross-sectional study not being able to ascribe a direct cause-and-effect relationship between exposure and outcome, it is estimated that an additional 1.2 million boys received SES with excess education costs of about United States (US) $180 billion associated with exposure to Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine. By contrast, exposure to Thimerosal-reduced hepatitis B vaccine was not associated with an increased risk of receiving SES. Therefore, routine childhood vaccination is important to reduce the morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases, but every effort should be made to eliminate Thimerosal from all vaccines.

Keywords: Merthiolate; Thiomersal; autism; developmental delay; ethylmercury; learning disabilities; special education services.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. Three of four of the authors were previously involved in vaccine/biologic litigation; however, none of the vaccine/biologic litigation involved the outcome of special education. Mark R. Geier, David A. Geier, and Janet K. Kern have been involved as consultants and expert witnesses for petitioners in the no-fault National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) and have also been consultants and expert witness for plaintiffs in civil litigation. Mark R. Geier and David A. Geier are not involved in any current cases, have not been involved in any cases for many years, and have no plans to be involved in any future cases. Janet K. Kern is not involved in any current cases and has no plans to be involved in any future cases. Kristin G. Homme has no potential conflicts of interest.

References

    1. National Center for Education Statistics . The Condition of Education 2016 Children and Youth with Disabilities. National Center for Education Statistics; Washington, DC, USA: 2016. [(accessed on 1 October 2016)]. Participation in Education. Chapter 2. Available online: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgg.asp.
    1. Van Buren R.C. 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 Recomm. Rep. 1991;40:1–19. - PubMed
    1. Tan M., Parkin J.E. Route of decomposition of thiomersal (thimerosal) Int. J. Pharm. 2000;208:23–24. doi: 10.1016/S0378-5173(00)00514-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chirstensen D.L., Baio J., Van Naarden Braun K., Bilder D., Charles J., Constantino J.N., Daniels J., Durkin M.S., Fitzgerald R.T., Kurzius-Spencer M., et al. Prevalence and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 sites, United States 2012. MMWR Surveill. Summ. 2016;65:1–23. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6503a1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Clarkson T.W., Nordberg G.F., Sager P.R. Reproductive and developmental toxicity of metals. Scand. J. Work Environ. Health. 1985;11:145–154. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2239. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources