A longitudinal cohort study of the relationship between Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccination and specific delays in development in the United States: Assessment of attributable risk and lifetime care costs

David A. Geier; Janet K. Kern; Brian S. Hooker; Paul G. King; Lisa K. Sykes; Mark R. Geier

doi:10.1016/j.jegh.2015.06.002

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Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2016, Pages 105 - 118

A longitudinal cohort study of the relationship between Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccination and specific delays in development in the United States: Assessment of attributable risk and lifetime care costs

Authors

David A. Geier^a, Janet K. Kern^a^{, *}^,jkern@dfwair.net, Brian S. Hooker^b, Paul G. King^c, Lisa K. Sykes^c, Mark R. Geier^a

^aInstitute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc, Silver Spring, MD, USA

^bBiology Department, Simpson University, Redding, CA, USA

^cCoMeD, Inc, Silver Spring, MD, USA

^*Corresponding author at: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, 14 Redgate Court, Silver Spring, MD 20905, USA.

Corresponding Author

Janet K. Kernjkern@dfwair.net

Received 22 March 2015, Revised 4 May 2015, Accepted 1 June 2015, Available Online 9 July 2015.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2015.06.002 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Ethylmercury; Merthiolate; Thimerosal; Thiomersal; Vaccine
Abstract: Epidemiological evidence suggests a link between mercury (Hg) exposure from Thimerosal-containing vaccines and specific delays in development. A hypothesis-testing longitudinal cohort study (n = 49,835) using medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between exposure to Hg from Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccines (T-HBVs) administered at specific intervals in the first 6 months of life and specific delays in development [International Classification of Disease, 9th revision (ICD-9): 315.xx] among children born between 1991 and 1994 and continuously enrolled from birth for at least 5.81 years. Infants receiving increased Hg doses from T-HBVs administered within the first month, the first 2 months, and the first 6 months of life were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with specific delays in development than infants receiving no Hg doses from T-HBVs. During the decade in which T-HBVs were routinely recommended and administered to US infants (1991–2001), an estimated 0.5–1 million additional US children were diagnosed with specific delays in development as a consequence of 25 μg or 37.5 μg organic Hg from T-HBVs administered within the first 6 months of life. The resulting lifetime costs to the United States may exceed $1 trillion.
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue: 6 - 2
Pages: 105 - 118
Publication Date: 2015/07/09
ISSN (Online): 2210-6014
ISSN (Print): 2210-6006
DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2015.06.002 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - David A. Geier
AU  - Janet K. Kern
AU  - Brian S. Hooker
AU  - Paul G. King
AU  - Lisa K. Sykes
AU  - Mark R. Geier
PY  - 2015
DA  - 2015/07/09
TI  - A longitudinal cohort study of the relationship between Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccination and specific delays in development in the United States: Assessment of attributable risk and lifetime care costs
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 105
EP  - 118
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2015.06.002
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2015.06.002
ID  - Geier2015
ER  -

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