Prof. Dr. Vladimir Trajkovski

HEPATITIS B VACCINATION OF MALE NEONATES AND AUTISM DIAGNOSIS, NHIS 1997–2002

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 73:1665–1677, 2010

Carolyn M. Gallagher1,2, Melody S. Goodman2,3
1PhD Program in Population Health and Clinical Outcomes Research
2Department of Preventive Medicine
3Graduate Program in Public Health, Center for Public Health and Health Policy Research, Stony
Brook University Medical Center, Health Sciences Center, State University of New York at Stony
Brook, Stony Brook, New York, USA
Universal hepatitis B vaccination was recommended for U.S. newborns in 1991; however,
safety findings are mixed. The association between hepatitis B vaccination of male neonates
and parental report of autism diagnosis was determined. This cross-sectional study used
weighted probability samples obtained from National Health Interview Survey 1997–2002
data sets. Vaccination status was determined from the vaccination record. Logistic regression
was used to estimate the odds for autism diagnosis associated with neonatal hepatitis B
vaccination among boys age 3–17 years, born before 1999, adjusted for race, maternal education,
and two-parent household. Boys vaccinated as neonates had threefold greater odds
for autism diagnosis compared to boys never vaccinated or vaccinated after the first month
of life. Non-Hispanic white boys were 64% less likely to have autism diagnosis relative to
nonwhite boys. Findings suggest that U.S. male neonates vaccinated with the hepatitis B vaccine
prior to 1999 (from vaccination record) had a threefold higher risk for parental report of
autism diagnosis compared to boys not vaccinated as neonates during that same time period.
Nonwhite boys bore a greater risk.