BackAluminum in children's vaccine causing asthma? US study gives insights
Aluminum has been used in some vaccines since the 1930s, as an ingredient — called an adjuvant — that provokes stronger immune protection
PremiumA study funded by the US government has tried understanding if the aluminum in children vaccine tends to affect and cause asthma and other allergies in the toddlers. The aluminum is an additive used in children vaccine.
Aluminum has been used in some vaccines since the 1930s, as an ingredient — called an adjuvant — that provokes stronger immune protection.
The study, released Tuesday, suggests that young children who were vaccinated with most or all of the recommended aluminum-containing vaccines had at least a 36% higher risk of being diagnosed with persistent asthma than kids who got fewer vaccines.
Asthma, a condition that can cause spasms in the lungs, usually results from an allergic reaction. About 4% of US children under 5 have persistent asthma.
By age 2, children should be vaccinated against 15 diseases, according to US recommendations. Aluminum adjuvants are in vaccines for seven of them.
Aluminum adjuvants have long been considered safe and effective. Still, scientists noted a period of increased rates in allergies and asthma among U.S. children during a 30-year period starting in about 1980, and some wondered if there was a connection.
A new federally funded study has found a possible link, but experts say the research has important shortcomings and is not a reason to change current vaccine recommendations. The study doesn’t claim aluminum causes the breathing condition, and officials say more work is needed to try to confirm any connection, which hadn't been seen in earlier research.
Previous researches have linked aluminum from industrial areas to asthma in residents and factory workers. Study has also shown that mice injected with aluminum suffer an immune system reaction that causes the kind of airway inflammation seen in childhood asthma.
Study found that kids who got 3 milligrams or more of vaccine-related aluminum had at least a 36% higher risk of developing persistent asthma than kids who got less than 3, researchers said.
(With input from AP)
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