This study found a small, but statistically significant association between early thimerosal exposure and the presence of tics in boys.

PMID: 

J Pediatr Psychol. 2012 Jan-Feb;37(1):106-18. Epub 2011 Jul 23. PMID: 21785120

Abstract Title: 

Thimerosal exposure in early life and neuropsychological outcomes 7-10 years later.

Abstract: 

OBJECTIVE: The authors used a public use data set to investigate associations between the receipt of thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins early in life and neuropsychological outcomes assessed at 7-10 years.METHODS: The data were originally created by evaluating 1,047 children ages 7-10 years and their biological mothers. This study developed seven latent neuropsychological factors and regressed them on a comprehensive set of covariates and thimerosal exposure variables.RESULTS: The authors found no statistically significant associations between thimerosal exposure from vaccines early in life and six of the seven latent constructs. There was a small, but statistically significant association between early thimerosal exposure and the presence of tics in boys.CONCLUSIONS: This finding should be interpreted with caution due to limitations in the measurement of tics and the limited biological plausibility regarding a causal relationship.

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