Thompson William W, Price Cristofer, Goodson Barbara, Shay David K, Benson Patti, Hinrichsen Virginia L, Lewis Edwin, Eriksen Eileen, Ray Paula, Marcy S Michael, Dunn John, Jackson Lisa A, Lieu Tracy A, Black Steve, Stewart Gerrie, Weintraub Eric S, Davis Robert L, DeStefano Frank
National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases, Influenza Division, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
N Engl J Med. 2007 Sep 27;357(13):1281-92. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa071434.
It has been hypothesized that early exposure to thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in vaccines and immune globulin preparations, is associated with neuropsychological deficits in children.
We enrolled 1047 children between the ages of 7 and 10 years and administered standardized tests assessing 42 neuropsychological outcomes. (We did not assess autism-spectrum disorders.) Exposure to mercury from thimerosal was determined from computerized immunization records, medical records, personal immunization records, and parent interviews. Information on potential confounding factors was obtained from the interviews and medical charts. We assessed the association between current neuropsychological performance and exposure to mercury during the prenatal period, the neonatal period (birth to 28 days), and the first 7 months of life.
Among the 42 neuropsychological outcomes, we detected only a few significant associations with exposure to mercury from thimerosal. The detected associations were small and almost equally divided between positive and negative effects. Higher prenatal mercury exposure was associated with better performance on one measure of language and poorer performance on one measure of attention and executive functioning. Increasing levels of mercury exposure from birth to 7 months were associated with better performance on one measure of fine motor coordination and on one measure of attention and executive functioning. Increasing mercury exposure from birth to 28 days was associated with poorer performance on one measure of speech articulation and better performance on one measure of fine motor coordination.
Our study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and deficits in neuropsychological functioning at the age of 7 to 10 years.
有假设称，儿童早期接触硫柳汞（一种用于疫苗和免疫球蛋白制剂的含汞防腐剂）与神经心理缺陷有关。
我们招募了1047名7至10岁的儿童，并进行了标准化测试，评估42项神经心理指标。（我们未评估自闭症谱系障碍。）通过计算机化免疫记录、病历、个人免疫记录和家长访谈确定硫柳汞的汞暴露情况。从访谈和病历中获取潜在混杂因素的信息。我们评估了当前神经心理表现与产前、新生儿期（出生至28天）以及出生后前7个月汞暴露之间的关联。
在42项神经心理指标中，我们仅发现少数与硫柳汞汞暴露有显著关联。所检测到的关联较小，且正负效应几乎平分秋色。较高的产前汞暴露与一项语言测试中的较好表现以及一项注意力和执行功能测试中的较差表现相关。从出生到7个月汞暴露水平的增加与一项精细运动协调测试以及一项注意力和执行功能测试中的较好表现相关。从出生到28天汞暴露的增加与一项言语清晰度测试中的较差表现以及一项精细运动协调测试中的较好表现相关。
我们的研究不支持早期接触含硫柳汞疫苗和免疫球蛋白中的汞与7至10岁儿童神经心理功能缺陷之间存在因果关联。
