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August 23, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"MMR Study Finds No Link Between Autism and Bowel Disorders" Independent (UK) (www.independent.co.uk) (08/23/02) P. 6; Duckworth, Lorna

A new study published in the British Medical Journal concludes that autistic children are no more likely to have gastrointestinal and bowel disorders than children who do not have autism.  Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine studied 96 autistic children from the U.K. General Practice Research Database between 1988 and 1999 and observed no increase in gut disorders or food intolerance among children with autism, compared to those without autism.  They also found no association between measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and the onset of gastrointestinal symptoms in children.  The authors noted that while they "cannot exclude the possibility" that severe gastrointestinal disease could be linked to the development of autism in some people, the findings suggest that if it does occur, it would be rare.

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