In Poland, administered childhood
vaccines still contain
thimerosal as a preservative. Despite the access to
mercury free formulas, the most of children are still vaccinated by
thimerosal-containing
vaccines (TCV) owing to economical reasons. That circumstances caused the rising discussion on potential harmful influence of
TCVs on children health. The objective of this analysis was to determine an association of
TCVs exposure with the risk of
autism. Study population included 96 cases diagnosed with childhood or atypical
autism and 192 controls matched individually by year of birth, gender, and physician's practice. Data on
autism diagnose and vaccination history were from GPs. Data on the other possible
autism risk factors were collected from mothers. Conditional logistic regression was used to assess the risk of
autism due to
TCVs exposure. No significant association was found between
TCVs exposure and
autism. After adjusting to potential confounders, odds ratios of the risk of
autism developing for infants vaccinated with
TCVs were 1.52 (95% CI: 0.29-11.11) for doses 12.5-87.5 microg, 2.78 (95% CI: 0.29-11.11) for 100-137.5 microg and 1.97 (95% CI: 0.37-18.95) for these exposed > or = 150 microg. Our study revealed no evidence of an association between
TCVs and
autism.