Anthroposophy: a risk factor for noncompliance with measles immunization.

Anthroposophy is a school of thought or esoteric philosophy that goes back to Rudolf Steiner. Steiner wanted to expand the human mind through imagination, inspiration, and intuition. His own insights originated mainly from the “Akasha-Chronicle.” This is the “nontransitory history that is not perceptible to the senses,” which apparently only Steiner could access. Steiner applied his concepts in several areas, eg, farming, education, and medicine. Anthroposophic medicine was founded by Steiner and Ita Wegman in the early 20th century. Currently, it is being promoted as an extension of conventional medicine. Proponents claim that “its unique understanding of the interplay among physiological, soul and spiritual processes in healing and illness serves to bridge allopathy with naturopathy, homeopathy, functional/nutritional medicine and other healing systems.” Its value has repeatedly been questioned, and clinical research in this area is often less than rigorous; of 178 clinical trials recently reviewed, for instance, only 21 were randomized. Anthroposophic education was developed in the Waldorf school that was founded by Steiner in 1919 to serve the children of employees of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany. Pupils of Waldorf or Steiner schools, as they are also frequently called, are encouraged to develop independent thinking and creativity, social responsibility, respect, and compassion. Waldorf schools implicitly infuse spiritual and mystic concepts into their curriculum. Like some other alternative healthcare practitioners, some doctors of anthroposophic medicine take a stance against childhood immunizations. In this comment, I summarize recent evidence in support of this statement and outline the effects of this attitude.