Lancet MMR autism fraud in the context of "Sunday Times"

Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a condition characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a need or strong preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing differences, focused interests, and repetitive behaviors. Characteristics of autism are present from early childhood and the condition typically persists throughout life. Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder, and a formal diagnosis requires professional assessment that these characteristics cause significant challenges in daily life beyond what would be expected given a person's age and social environment. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, presentations vary and support needs range from minimal to the person being non-speaking or needing 24-hour care.

Autism diagnoses have risen since the 1990s, largely because of broader diagnostic criteria, greater awareness, and wider access to assessment. Changing social demands may also play a role. The World Health Organization estimates that about 1 in 100 children were diagnosed between 2012 and 2021, noting an increasing trend. Surveillance studies suggest a similar share of the adult population would meet diagnostic criteria if formally assessed. This rise has fueled anti-vaccine activists' disproven claim that vaccines cause autism, based on a fraudulent 1998 study that was later retracted. Autism is highly heritable and involves many genes, while environmental factors appear to play a smaller, mainly prenatal role. Boys are diagnosed several times more often than girls, and conditions such as anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, and intellectual disability are more common among autistic people.

Extensive investigation into vaccines and autism spectrum disorder has shown that there is no relationship between the two, causal or otherwise, and that vaccine ingredients do not cause autism. Major health authorities, including the World Health Organization, the National Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Food and Drug Administration, along with large-scale epidemiological research, reinforce the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe, that multiple concurrent vaccinations do not overwhelm the immune system, and that autism cannot be attributed to vaccination.

The scientist Peter Hotez researched the growth of the false claim and concluded that its spread originated with Andrew Wakefield's fraudulent 1998 paper, and that no prior paper supports a link. Despite the scientific consensus for the absence of a relationship, and the Wakefield paper's retraction, the anti-vaccination movement at large continues to promote theories linking the two.