Does the hepatitis B vaccine lead to MS?

Over the past years, a study caused concern claiming that the hepatitis B vaccinate might be linked with MS. Since then, numerous studies have evaluated a possible relationship between hepatitis B vaccination and MS. This lead to a large body of scientific evidence now showing that hepatitis B vaccination does not cause or worsen MS. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide have received hepatitis B vaccine without developing MS or any other autoimmune disease. 

• A study conducted in France from 1994 to 2003 compared children with MS to children without. The study did not find a relationship between vaccination for hepatitis B and the development of childhood-onset MS
• Other studies conducted in the US and in Europe also evaluated the possible link between hepatitis B vaccination and MS, and found no association between hepatitis B vaccination and MS
• In 2002, the Institute of Medicine reviewed published and unpublished research to determine if there was a link between hepatitis B vaccine and demyelinating neurological disorders, including MS in adults. The committee found that the epidemiological evidence does not support a causal relationship between hepatitis B vaccine in adults and multiple sclerosis

Sources:

1. Hepatitis B Vaccination and the Risk of Childhood-Onset Multiple Sclerosis. Mikaeloff Y, et al. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;16:1176-1182
2. Hepatitis B vaccination and the risk of multiple sclerosis: case-control studies. Ascherio A, et al. Gastroenterol Clin Biol. 2001;25:927-9
3. Vaccinations and the risk of relapse in multiple sclerosis. Vaccines in Multiple Sclerosis Study Group. Confavreaux C, et al. N Engl J Med. 2001; 344:319-26
4. Institute of Medicine (2002). Immunization Safety Review: Hepatitis B Vaccine and Demyelinating Neurological Disorders. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.