The relationship between vaccine refusal and self-report of atopic disease in children.

Background: In the last 3 decades, there has been an unexplained increase in the prevalence of asthma and hay fever.

Objective: We sought to determine whether there is an association between childhood vaccination and atopic diseases, and we assessed the self-reported prevalence of atopic diseases in a population that included a large number of families not vaccinating their children.

Methods: Surveys were mailed to 2964 member households of the National Vaccine Information Center, which represents people concerned about vaccine safety, to ascertain vaccination and atopic disease status.