
pmid: 39514734
pmc: PMC11444347
Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has been offered in over a hundred countries worldwide (including the United Kingdom, since September 2008). Controversy around adverse effects persists, with inconsistent evidence from follow-up of randomized controlled trials and confounding by indication limiting the conclusions drawn from larger-scale observational studies. This study aims to estimate the association between receiving a quadrivalent HPV vaccine and the reporting of short-term adverse effects and to demonstrate the utility of regression discontinuity design for examining side effects in routine data. Methods: We applied a novel regression discontinuity approach to a retrospective population-based cohort using primary care data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to hospital and social deprivation data. We examined the new onset of gastrointestinal, neuromuscular, pain, and headache/migraine symptoms using READ and International Classification of Diseases, tenth revision diagnostic codes. For each year between 2012 and 2017, we compared girls in school year 8 (born July/August) who were eligible to receive the vaccine with girls in year 7 (born September/October) who were not eligible. Results: Of the 21,853 adolescent girls in the cohort, 10,881 (50%) were eligible for HPV vaccination. There was no evidence of increased new gastrointestinal symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85, 1.15), headache/migraine symptoms (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.70, 1.01), or pain symptoms (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.16) when comparing those eligible and ineligible for HPV vaccination. Conclusion: This study found no evidence that HPV vaccination eligibility is associated with reporting short-term adverse effects among adolescent girls.
Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine Quadrivalent, Types 6, 11, 16, 18/adverse effects, Adolescent, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Migraine Disorders, 610, Pain, Pain/etiology, Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine Quadrivalent, 618, Papillomavirus Infections/prevention & control, Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine Quadrivalent, Types 6, 11, 16, 18, Humans, Papillomavirus Vaccines, Child, Retrospective Studies, United Kingdom/epidemiology, Papillomavirus Infections, Headache, 16, 11, United Kingdom, Infectious Diseases, 18/adverse effects, Types 6, Regression Analysis, Female, Gastrointestinal Diseases/epidemiology, Papillomavirus Vaccines/adverse effects
Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine Quadrivalent, Types 6, 11, 16, 18/adverse effects, Adolescent, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Migraine Disorders, 610, Pain, Pain/etiology, Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine Quadrivalent, 618, Papillomavirus Infections/prevention & control, Human Papillomavirus Recombinant Vaccine Quadrivalent, Types 6, 11, 16, 18, Humans, Papillomavirus Vaccines, Child, Retrospective Studies, United Kingdom/epidemiology, Papillomavirus Infections, Headache, 16, 11, United Kingdom, Infectious Diseases, 18/adverse effects, Types 6, Regression Analysis, Female, Gastrointestinal Diseases/epidemiology, Papillomavirus Vaccines/adverse effects
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 0 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
