Statens Serum Institut Large Danish Study Finds No Link Between Vaccines and Autism or 49 Other Health Conditions

A new Danish study finds no association between aluminum in childhood vaccines and 50 different health conditions, including autism, asthma, and autoimmune diseases. The findings reaffirm the safety of Denmark’s childhood vaccination program.

An extensive new Danish register-based study - the largest of its kind - supports the safety of the national childhood immunization program. Analyzing data from over 1 million children, the study found no increased risk of autism, asthma, or autoimmune diseases in vaccinated children.

“Our results are reassuring. By analyzing data from more than one million Danish children, we found absolutely no indication that the very small amount of aluminum used in the childhood vaccination program increases the risk of 50 different health outcomes during childhood,” says Anders Hviid, Head of Department at Statens Serum Institut (SSI) and principal investigator on the study.

Aluminum, used as an adjuvant to enhance the immune response, has been a component in some vaccines since the 1930s.

Researchers from SSI used Denmark’s unique national health registers to follow children born between 1997 and 2018, investigating the associations between aluminum-containing vaccines and a total of 50 health outcomes - including asthma, allergies, autoimmune conditions, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

“This is the first study of this scale and with such comprehensive analyses, and it confirms the strong safety profile of the vaccines we’ve used for decades in Denmark,” says Anders Hviid.

The results are being published at a time of heightened international debate about vaccine safety which makes the Danish study highly relevant.

“In an era marked by widespread misinformation about vaccines, it is crucial to rely on solid scientific evidence. Large, population-based register studies like this one - tracking more than a million children over many years - are a bulwark against the politicization of health science which undermines public trust in vaccines. It is absolutely essential to distinguish real science from politically motivated campaigns - otherwise, it is the children who will end up paying the price,” says Anders Hviid.

Reference:

Andersson NW, Bech Svalgaard I, Hoffmann SS, et al. Aluminum-adsorbed vaccines and chronic diseases in childhood. A nationwide cohort study.Ann Intern Med. 15 July 2025. [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.7326/ANNALS-25-00997

Fact Box:

• Researchers from Statens Serum Institut (SSI) used Denmark’s unique health registers to analyze data from more than 1 million Danish children born between 1997 and 2018 to investigate potential long-term health effects of aluminum-containing vaccines.
• The study examined 50 different conditions and found no statistical association between aluminum content in vaccines and increased risk of developing autism, autoimmune diseases, asthma, or allergic conditions such as hay fever and food allergies.
• The study has just been published in the prestigious medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
  Source: Statens Serum Institut (SSI)

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