Effects of
diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis or tetanus vaccination on allergies and
allergy-related respiratory symptoms among children and adolescents in
the United States.
Hurwitz EL, Morgenstern
H.
UCLA School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology,
Los Angeles, Calif 90095-1772, USA. ehurwitz@ucla.edu
BACKGROUND:
Findings from animal and human studies confirm that diphtheria and
tetanus toxoids and pertussis (DTP) and tetanus vaccinations induce
allergic responses; associations between childhood vaccinations and
subsequent allergies have been reported recently. OBJECTIVE: The
association of DTP or tetanus vaccination with allergies and
allergy-related respiratory symptoms among children and adolescents in
the United States was assessed. METHODS: Data were used from the Third
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on infants aged 2
months through adolescents aged 16 years. DTP or tetanus vaccination,
lifetime allergy history, and allergy symptoms in the past 12 months
were based on parental or guardian recall. Logistic regression modeling
was performed to estimate the effects of DTP or tetanus vaccination on
each allergy. RESULTS: The odds of having a history of asthma was twice
as great among vaccinated subjects than among unvaccinated subjects
(adjusted odds ratio, 2.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.59 to 6.74). The
odds of having had any allergy-related respiratory symptom in the past
12 months was 63% greater among vaccinated subjects than unvaccinated
subjects (adjusted odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.05 to
2.54). The associations between vaccination and subsequent allergies and
symptoms were greatest among children aged 5 through 10 years.
CONCLUSIONS: DTP or tetanus vaccination appears to increase the risk of
allergies and related respiratory symptoms in children and adolescents.
Although it is unlikely that these results are entirely because of any
sources of bias, the small number of unvaccinated subjects and the study
design limit our ability to make firm causal inferences about the true
magnitude of effect.