New study finds no link between childhood vaccines and epilepsy risk

The findings add to growing evidence supporting vaccine safety, showing no higher epilepsy risk among children who received routine immunisations

At a time when vaccine hesitancy continues to challenge public health efforts, a new study brings timely reassurance. Researchers have found no increased risk of epilepsy linked to routine childhood vaccinations, addressing one of the most persistent safety concerns.

 

About the study

 

The study, titled “Incident Epilepsy and Vaccination Status or Vaccine Aluminum Exposure in Children Under Age 4”, was published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

 

A team of researchers from the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Wisconsin and collaborators, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted the analysis, using data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), a large database of immunisation and health outcomes used to track vaccine safety.

 

 

2,089 children diagnosed with epilepsy between the ages of 1 and 4 years were included as cases. These were compared with 20,139 matched children without epilepsy, matched by age, sex and healthcare site. Researchers noted that 54 per cent of the children studied were boys, and most participants were toddlers, aged between one year and 23 months.

 

Key findings include -

 

• Routine childhood vaccines do not increase the risk of epilepsy in children under four years of age
• The amount of aluminium used as vaccine adjuvants, substances added to boost immune response, also showed no association with higher epilepsy risk

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No higher epilepsy risk from following vaccine schedules

 

Researchers assessed vaccine exposure in two ways:

• How closely children followed the recommended childhood immunisation schedule
• Total amount of aluminium received from vaccine adjuvants

In both cases, no higher risk of epilepsy was found.

 

Aluminium salts, used in small amounts in some vaccines to strengthen the immune response, have been a focus of safety concerns for some parents. However, the study found that aluminium exposure from routine vaccines did not increase the likelihood of epilepsy.

 

Importantly, children who already had known risk factors such as premature birth, a family history of epilepsy, or underlying neurological or medical conditions, were far more likely to develop epilepsy than those without such risks.

 

What this means for parents

 

Aluminium in vaccines has long been the subject of safety debates. However, this study adds to a growing body of evidence showing that typical exposure from childhood vaccines is not linked to neurological conditions like epilepsy.

 

Vaccination remains one of the most effective tools in preventing serious childhood illnesses such as measles, whooping cough and polio. Research confirming vaccine safety, including neurological outcomes like epilepsy, is critical to maintaining public trust in immunisation programmes.

 

Healthcare providers can use these findings to reassure parents, especially at a time when vaccination coverage has declined in some communities, partly due to safety concerns.

   

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This report is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.