No Link Found Between Autism and Mercury

A research team from California’s U.C. Davis report that the results of their study shows children with autism do not metabolize mercury differently than those who do not have autism.

“The bottom line is that blood-mercury levels in both populations were essentially the same. However, this analysis did not address a causal role, because we measured mercury after the diagnosis was made”, said lead study author Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an internationally known MIND Institute researcher and professor of environmental and occupational health.

The research looked at sources of mercury from fish consumption, personal-care products, vaccinations and dental fillings. The findings, published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, come at a time when advocates including parents argue that mercury found in fish, dental fillings, vaccines and industrial emissions are responsible for autism. Evidence on most possible sources of mercury fish consumption and dental amalgams were collected by interviews with the study subjects’ parents.

“It’s a pervasive belief that children with autism have tons of metal in them,” said Hertz-Picciotto. “But autistic children have similar blood mercury concentrations as other children.”

The research, published in the journal “Environmental Health Perspectives,” is the largest investigation to date on mercury levels in the blood of autistic children.

One of the largest controversies claims that vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal, which contains mercury, may cause autism. Mercury is a heavy metal known to cause adverse developmental effects when consumed in excess amounts.