We believe that the investigator is never justified in interpreting the results of ecological analyses in terms of the individuals who give rise to the data. (”The Ecological Fallacy,” 1988, by Steven Piantadosi, MD, PhD, biostatistician and Director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Baltimore)
It is impossible to study ecologic […]

Before diving in and talking immediately about the Young, Geier, & Geier study, “Thimerosal exposure in infants and neurodevelopmental disorders: an assessment of computerized medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink,” it’s probably a good idea to back up a bit and talk about confounding and confounders. The authors make no mention of confounding and […]

Two days ago I came across the paper, “Thimerosal exposure in infants and neurodevelopmental disorders: an assessment of computerized medical records in the Vaccine Safety Datalink,” by Heather Young, David Geier, and Mark Geier, which is listed as an Article in Press in the Journal of Neurological Sciences. This study has a lot of problems, […]

In my last post I argued that the apparent marked increase in the frequency of Autistic Disorder over the last three decades is almost entirely due to three factors: broadening diagnostic criteria, younger age at diagnosis, and improved efficiency of case ascertainment. Some autism activists have argued that this can be seen merely as a […]

Okay, I’m back. I really did fracture some ribs and I have a partially atelectatic lung. The prognosis is good as long as I keep breathing deeply, but it hurts like hell and I can’t sleep. I’ve been gone for about ten days and the world has gone berserk on the MMR vaccine & autism […]

A few minutes ago, while playing with my golden retriever puppy on the stairs (obviously a stupid thing to be doing) I tripped, fell down the stairs, and landed on the left side of my chest. The skin over my left ribs is swelling and turning black and blue, and it hurts like hell […]

Breast-Feeding May Boost IQ: This new study is so well done, and the results are so earth-shattering, that once again I must interrupt writing my post(s) on why toddlers getting the MMR vaccine is so important, and tell you about this study. Meanwhile, you can a look at the abstract (summary) of the article […]

While I was researching my upcoming posts on measles vaccination, I came across an interesting report on the CDC website. Adolescent Health in the United States, 2007 by Andrea MacKay and Catherine Duran, was published in February 2008 and released in April. Ms. MacKay and Ms. Duran are in the Office of Analysis and Epidemiology […]

CDC Cites Largest U.S. Resurgence of Measles Since 2001 and this especially alarming, since 1 in 4 U.S. Toddlers Improperly Vaccinated. Also, please pay no attention to those two men behind the curtain (Obama and McCain), since What the Autism Studies Show Isn’t Reflected in What the Candidates Say.
I will end this ridiculous practice of […]

Caffeine and Pregnancy: How Risky? Well, if you actually weigh all the evidence, not very risky, in reasonable amounts. One study that was originally published online in January is still being featured in the April 15 issue of Time magazine as THE definitive study to scare all pregnant women away from their morning […]