CLEVELAND, Ohio – A new study finds the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination, commonly called MMR, has no association to the development of autism, even among children who are at higher risk for the disorder.
"One of the great things about this study is that it not only shows that there's not an association between the MMR vaccination and getting autism, that there is no association, but it also shows that there is also no association in high-risk families -- families that already have an older child with autism," said Dr. Tom Frazier, the director of Cleveland Clinic Children's Center for Autism.
Frazier did not take part in the study.
Researchers at the Lewin Group studied 95,000 children.
DOCUMENT: Study finds no link between MMR vaccine, autism
They found no link between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, regardless of whether older siblings had the disorder.
Researchers hope this will ease the minds of parents who may have been unsure about vaccinating their children.
Fraizer said autism is a complex genetic disorder, and he hopes the focus is no longer on ways to avoid it, but rather on proper treatment options for those already diagnosed.
"What we need to focus on is the fact that autism is a genetic disorder," Frazier said. "We're looking for the causes. We already have some behavioral treatments that can be quite helpful for kids and so, let's not pretend that children can avoid autism by avoiding things. Instead, let's focus our attention on getting kids that are diagnosed appropriate treatment."
Complete findings for the study, titled "Autism occurrence by MMR vaccine status among children with older siblings with and without autism," can be found online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.