Published online September 1, 2008
PEDIATRICS Vol. 122 No. 3 September 2008, pp. 685-686 (doi:10.1542/peds.2008-1957)
This Article
Right arrow Extract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Smith, M. J.
Right arrow Articles by Rubin, D. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Smith, M. J.
Right arrow Articles by Rubin, D. M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Infectious Disease & Immunity
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Immunization Uptake in Siblings of Children With Autism: In Reply

Michael J. Smith, MD, MSCE
Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases,
University of Louisville,
Louisville, KY 40205

Susan S. Ellenberg, PhD
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics,
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Louis M. Bell, MD
Divisions of Infectious Diseases and General Pediatrics,
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, PA 19104

David M. Rubin, MD, MSCE
Division of General Pediatrics,
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics,
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Kuwaik et al describe immunization uptake in a population that we were unable to identify in our study1: the siblings of children diagnosed with autism. In the group of 53 younger siblings of autistic children, 14 had partial or delayed coverage and 10 were completely unvaccinated. In contrast, older siblings had immunization rates that were comparable with the national average, suggesting that the parents in this study did not have vaccine safety concerns at baseline.

Consistent with previous studies of vaccine-risk communication,1–4 physicians were reported as an important influence for the majority of parents in this study. Other sources of information including research, the media, and the Internet were also mentioned. It has been shown that parents who requested vaccine exemptions3 and those who reported autism to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System4 use and trust different sources of information than the general public. Stratified analyses of beliefs and information-seeking behavior according to vaccination status in the current study may provide information that could be used to develop vaccine-risk communication strategies for parents of autistic children. As the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders increases, such strategies will be necessary to maintain public confidence in the immunization program.

Perhaps the most significant impact of this study relies on the prevalence of autism in the younger siblings. A lack of association between vaccination status and development of autism in the younger siblings may provide the most reassuring evidence for parents of autistic children who are deciding whether to vaccinate their younger siblings.

REFERENCES

  1. Smith MJ, Ellenberg SS, Bell LM, Rubin DM. Media coverage of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism controversy and its relationship to MMR immunization rates in the United States. Pediatrics. 2008;121 (4). Available at: www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/121/4/e836
  2. Gellin BG, Maibach EW, Marcuse EK. Do parents understand immunizations? A national telephone survey. Pediatrics. 2000;106 (5):1097 –1102[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  3. Salmon DA, Moulton LH, Omer SB, DeHart MP, Stokley S, Halsey NA. Factors associated with refusal of childhood vaccines among parents of school-aged children: a case-control study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159 (5):470 –476[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  4. Woo EJ, Ball R, Bostrom A, et al. Vaccine risk perception among reporters of autism after vaccination: Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System 1990–2001. Am J Public Health. 2004;94 (6):990 –995[Abstract/Free Full Text]
PEDIATRICS (ISSN 1098-4275). ©2008 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?



This Article
Right arrow Extract Freely available
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Smith, M. J.
Right arrow Articles by Rubin, D. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Smith, M. J.
Right arrow Articles by Rubin, D. M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Infectious Disease & Immunity
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?