Controversy over the link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has induced stress, guilt, and frustration among parents of children with autism, says a new UK study. The effects on the parents are largely unappreciated by health professionals, the study says.

The authors of the study, which was funded by the UK Medical Research Council, say that although much research has looked at the link between the MMR vaccine, bowel disease, and autism—a link postulated by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues in 1998 (Lancet 1998;351: 637)—and at the effect of the debate in general, there has been “a notable absence” of research …