Hello, , from NHERI and Dr. Ray.
The Context
Scholars
Mawson, Ray, Bhuiyan, and Jacob recently published an intriguing study on vaccinations, titled “Pilot comparative study on the health of vaccinated and unvaccinated 6- to 12-year-old U.S. children.”[i] They begin their article by explaining that vaccines were one of the amazing achievements of biomedical science of the 20th century. They go on to write, however, the
following:
Although short-term immunologic and safety testing is performed on vaccines prior to their approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the long-term effects of individual vaccines and of the vaccination program itself remain unknown [8]. Vaccines are acknowledged to carry risks of severe acute and chronic adverse effects, such as neurological complications and even death [9], but such risks
are considered so rare that the vaccination program is believed to be safe and effective for virtually all children [10]. (p. 1)
The researchers then point out that the Institute of Medicine has recommended there should be studies comparing the health outcomes of vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Along these lines, the scholars wanted to add something important to the body of scientific knowledge about the risks – if any – of
vaccinations. Here is how they explain the purpose of the study:
The aims of this study were 1) to compare vaccinated and unvaccinated children on a broad range of health outcomes, including acute and chronic conditions, medication and health service utilization, and 2) to determine whether an association found between vaccination and NDDs [neurodevelopmental disorders], if any, remained significant
after adjustment for other measured factors. (p. 2)
One might wonder, however, what such a study has to do with homeschooling.
Methods
Mawson and his colleagues point out that “A major challenge in comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children has been to identify an accessible pool
of unvaccinated children, since the vast majority of children in the U.S. are vaccinated” (p. 2). Since there is evidence that a higher proportion of children educated at home (homeschool children) are unvaccinated compared to public school children then they would be suitable for such studies.
Research shows that homeschool families have many similarities to the nationwide population of families in general. Homeschool families have an
approximately equal median income to that of married-couple families nationwide, somewhat more years of formal education, and a higher average family size (just over three children) compared to the national average of just over two children. The authors suggest that the two populations are similar but not necessarily the same.
The study was a cross-sectional survey of homeschooling mothers on their
vaccinated and unvaccinated biological children ages 6 to 12. The object of the pilot study was not to obtain a representative sample of homeschool children but a convenience sample of unvaccinated children of sufficient size to test for significant differences in outcomes between the groups. The researchers proceeded by selecting 4 states (Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oregon) for the survey (Stage 1).
“Vaccination status was classified as unvaccinated (i.e., no previous vaccinations), partially vaccinated (received some but not all recommended vaccinations) and fully vaccinated (received all recommended age-appropriate vaccines), as reported by mothers” (p. 3). Mothers were asked to report on a wide variety of detailed factors. They were asked to indicate on a list of more than 40 acute and chronic illnesses all those for which her child or children had received a
diagnosis by a physician. They were also asked questions about things such as the use of health services and procedures, dental check-ups, “sick visits” to physicians, and the extent of physical activity (number of hours the child engaged in “vigorous” activities on a typical weekday). Questions that were specifically about the mother included items such as pregnancy-related conditions and birth history, use of medications during pregnancy, and exposure to an adverse environment (defined as
living within 1-2 miles of, e.g., a furniture manufacturing factory or a hazardous waste site).
Chi-square tests were performed initially to test the null hypothesis of no association between vaccination status and health outcomes (i.e., physician-diagnosed acute and chronic illnesses, medications, and the use of health services). “The second aim of the study was to determine whether any
association found between vaccination and neurodevelopmental disorders remained significant after controlling for other measured factors” (p. 3). The strength of associations between vaccination status and health outcomes were tested using odds ratios (OR); odds ratios describe the strength of the association between two categorical variables measured simultaneously.
Findings
The information contained in 415 questionnaires provided data on 666 homeschool children. Many findings were made and herein is present only a sampling of those.
Regarding acute illness, vaccinated children, combining the partially and fully
vaccinated, were significantly less likely than the unvaccinated to have had chickenpox (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.26) and whooping cough (pertussis) (OR 0.3). There was no significant difference regarding rubella. However, the vaccinated were significantly more likely than the unvaccinated to have been diagnosed with otitis media (OR 3.8) and pneumonia (OR 5.9). No significant differences were seen with regard to hepatitis A or B, high fever in the past 6 months, measles, mumps, meningitis (viral or
bacterial), influenza, or rotavirus.
Regarding, chronic illness, vaccinated children were significantly more likely than the unvaccinated to have been diagnosed with the following: allergic rhinitis (OR 30.1), other allergies (OR 3.9), eczema/atopic dermatitis (OR 2.9), a learning disability (OR 5.2), ADHD [Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder] (OR 4.2), ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder] (OR
4.2), any neurodevelopmental disorder (i.e., learning disability, ADHD or ASD) (OR 3.7) and any chronic illness (OR 2.4). No significant differences were observed with regard to cancer, chronic fatigue, conduct disorder, Crohn’s disease, depression, Types 1 or 2 diabetes, encephalopathy, epilepsy, hearing loss, high blood pressure, inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, seizures, Tourette’s syndrome, or services received under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act.
Several other findings were presented regarding “partial versus full vaccination,” “gender differences in chronic illness,” and “use of medications and health services.” There is not space in this article to present them.
“The second aim of the study focused on a specific health outcome
and was designed to determine whether vaccination was associated with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) and, if so, whether the association remained significant after adjustment for other measured factors” (p. 6). Data revealed that the single largest group of diagnoses was learning disability (n=15) followed by ASD (n=9), and ADHD (n=9), with smaller numbers comprising combinations of these three diagnoses. The factors associated with NDD in unadjusted logistic regression analyses were:
vaccination (OR 3.7); male gender (OR 2.1); adverse environment, defined as living within 1-2 miles of a furniture manufacturing factory, hazardous waste site, or lumber processing factory (OR 2.9); maternal use of antibiotics during pregnancy (OR 2.3); and preterm birth (OR 4.9).
After adjustment for all other significant factors, those that remained significantly associated with NDD were:
vaccination (OR 3.1); male gender (OR 2.3); and preterm birth (OR 5.0). The apparently strong association between both vaccination and preterm birth and NDD suggested the possibility of an interaction between these factors.
Conclusions
This study, then, was not about homeschooling, per se. By providence (or chance, if one believes in that kind of thing), however, the homeschool population provided a ready source of data that might not be as easy to access in any other place in America. The researchers went to the homeschool community and that community cooperated to help others learn more about vaccinations.
In summary, researchers Mawson, Ray, Bhuiyan, and Jacob presented the following:
“With regard to acute and chronic conditions, vaccinated children were significantly less likely than the unvaccinated to have had chickenpox and pertussis but, contrary to expectation, were significantly more likely to have been diagnosed with
otitis media, pneumonia, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and NDD. The vaccinated were also more likely to have used antibiotics, allergy and fever medications; to have been fitted with ventilation ear tubes; visited a doctor for a health issue in the previous year, and been hospitalized. (p. 8)
Regarding the second aim of the study, the researchers reported the following:
In this model [the final statistical model, after controlling for other measured factors ], vaccination, nonwhite race and male gender remained associated with NDD [neurodevelopmental disorders], whereas preterm birth itself was no longer associated with NDD. However, preterm birth combined with vaccination was associated with a 6.6-fold increased odds of NDD. (p. 9)
Some might think that the findings of this study stand alone in suggesting that vaccinations might have some adverse effects. The literature review in the report, however, will show that other research is also finding some negative things related to vaccinations. In addition, those interested might want to see another recently published fascinating study titled, “The introduction of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis and oral
polio vaccine among young infants in an urban African Community: A natural experiment.”[ii] These researchers found that between 3 and 5 months of age, children who received DTP and OPV early had 5-fold higher mortality than still unvaccinated children.
There is much debate
about vaccinations, government-promoted vaccination schedules, and the overall wisdom of using vaccinations on people. More research is bound to inform the discussion and perhaps someday show whether the norm of medical practice and the “normal science” of today were right, or wrong.[iii]
--Brian D. Ray, Ph.D.
National Home Education Research Institute
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[i] Mawson, Anthony R.; Ray, Brian D.; Bhuiyan, Azad R.; & Jacob, Binu. (2017). Pilot comparative study on the health of vaccinated and unvaccinated 6- to 12-year-old U.S. children. Journal of Translational Science, 3(3): 1-12, doi: 10.15761/JTS.1000186. Retrieved May 17, 2017 from http://www.oatext.com/Pilot-comparative-study-on-the-health-of-vaccinated-and-unvaccinated-6-to-12-year-old-U-S-children.php and http://www.oatext.com/pdf/JTS-3-186.pdf [ii] Morgensen, Søren Wengel; Andersen, Andreas; Rodrigues, Amabelia; Benn, Christine S.; & Aaby, Peter.
(2017). The introduction of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis and oral polio vaccine among young infants in an urban African Community: A natural experiment. EBioMedicine, 17, 192–198. Retrieved May 18, 2017 from http://www.ebiomedicine.com/article/S2352-3964(17)30046-4/fulltext [iii] Kuhn, Thomas S. (1962, 1970). The structure of scientific revolutions, second edition, enlarged [1970]. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.