title: Thimerosal exposure and increased risk for diagnosed tic disorder in the United States: a case-control study.
abstract: A hypothesis testing, case-control study evaluated automated medical records for exposure to organic-Hg from Thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccines (TM-HepB) administered at specific intervals in the first six-months-of-life among cases diagnosed with a tic disorder (TD) or cerebral degeneration (CD) (an outcome not biologically plausibly linked to TM exposure) in comparison to controls; both cases and controls were continuously enrolled from birth (born from 1991-2000) within the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) database. TD cases were significantly more likely than controls to have received increased organic-Hg from TM-HepB administered within the first month-of-life (odds ratio (OR)=1.59, p<0.00001), first two-months-of-life (OR=1.59, p<0.00001), and first six-months-of-life (OR=2.97, p<0.00001). Male TD cases were significantly more likely than male controls to have received increased organic-Hg from TM-HepB administered within the first month-of-life (OR =1.65, p<0.0001), first two-months-of-life (OR=1.64, p<0.0001), and first six months-of-life (OR=2.47, p<0.05), where as female TD were significantly more likely than female controls to have received increased organic-Hg from TM-HepB administered within the first six-months-of-life (OR=4.97, p<0.05). By contrast, CD cases were no more likely than controls to have received increased organic-Hg exposure from TM-HepB administered at any period studied within the first six-months-of-life. Although routine childhood vaccination is considered an important public health tool to combat infectious diseases, the present study associates increasing organic-Hg exposure from TM-HepB and the subsequent risk of a TD diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., 14 Redgate Ct, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Geier
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., 14 Redgate Ct, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Janet K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., 14 Redgate Ct, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Brian S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hooker
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., 14 Redgate Ct, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., 14 Redgate Ct, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Sykes
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., 14 Redgate Ct, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Kristin G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Homme
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chronic Illnesses, Inc., 14 Redgate Ct, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Geier
keywords: ethylmercury; merthiolate; thiomersal; tic; tourette; vaccine