Childhood shots not linked to diabetes

There is no evidence that childhood vaccinations increase the risk of type 1 diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes, according to results of a study in Denmark. The fact that diabetes rates increased after the widespread introduction of childhood vaccines has led to the theory that such vaccines may cause diabetes, Anders Hviid and colleagues explain in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. While there’s never been any strong evidence to support this idea, few studies have addressed it. The research team, based at Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, followed all children born in Denmark between 1990 and 2000. Data regarding diabetes diagnosis were obtained from the Danish National Hospital register, while vaccination dates were provided by the National Board of Health. Among the nearly 740,000 children, there were 681 cases of type 1 diabetes. The risk of diabetes in vaccinated children was comparable to that seen in unvaccinated children, the investigators found. The results were also negative when the analysis was restricted to children who had brothers or sisters with diabetes. “This study will, one hopes, be the last one that is necessary to disprove an association between immunization and diabetes,” Dr. Lynne L. Levitsky, of Harvard Medical School Boston, writes in an accompanying editorial. “The scientific community should now move on to the most important tasks: identifying the genetic, immunologic, and environmental phenomena that are actually responsible for the development of diabetes and finding the means to prevent and treat this chronic disorder,” —Reuters

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