
Background: Prior studies have investigated the effect of influenza vaccination on cardiovascular mortality (CVM). The influence of vaccinations other than influenza and CVM has not been investigated before. Methods: The public dataset of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III) between the years 1988-1994 and continuous NHANES from 1999-2004 was used for this analysis. From NHANES III, we included patients >18 years old with available data on positive antibody against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis or tetanus. From continuous NHANES, we included patients >18 years with available titers and vaccination history on hepatitis A, hepatitis B and pneumococcus. Protective titers were analyzed as per standardized cut offs. The primary outcome was CVM per National Death Index. Traditional cardiac risk factors along with CRP and social class (insurance, income and education level) were adjusted for in the multivariable analysis. Results: There were 1,848 (9.7%) cardiovascular deaths with a mean follow up of 13 years for NHANES III. There were 366 (2.3%) cardiovascular deaths with a mean follow up of 4.7 years for continuous NHANES. Multivariable analysis from NHANES III and continuous NHANES did not show any influence of individual seroprotective titers of routine vaccinations on CV mortality. In the multivariable model, significant predictors of mortality were age (p<0.01) male sex (p<0.01), CRP (p<0.01), hypertension (p<0.01), smoking (p<0.01), congestive heart failure (p<0.01), diabetes mellitus (p<0.01) & history of coronary artery disease equivalent (p<0.01). Combined effect of vaccinations was studied by combining the vaccination titers of measles, rubella, diphtheria and tetanus, however, it did not show any protective effect of 3 or more positive vaccination titers (odds ratio=0.94, p=0.6) or all 4 positive vaccination titers (odds ratio=0.93, p=0.6) compared to 2 or less positive vaccination titers as the referent group. Conclusion: Our observational study in a large database suggests that presence of non-influenza vaccination antibodies is not associated with decreased cardiovascular mortality in a nationally representative cohort.
| 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 |
