TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of age on immunologic response to recombinant hepatitis B vaccine
T2 - A meta-analysis
AU - Fisman, David N.
AU - Agrawal, Deepak
AU - Leder, Karin
PY - 2002/12/1
Y1 - 2002/12/1
N2 - Hepatitis B vaccine is a key tool for the prevention of hepatitis B infection. Age-associated changes in immune function may contribute to decreased vaccine efficacy in older individuals, although research related to this topic has yielded contradictory findings. We performed a meta-analysis of 24 published trials and studies that evaluated the association of age with response to hepatitis B vaccine, using a random-effects model. Pooling of study results suggested a significantly increased risk of nonresponse to hepatitis B vaccine among older individuals (relative risk [RR], 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48-2.10). An elevated risk of nonresponse persisted even after exclusion of poor-quality studies (RR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.23-2.15) and adjustment for publication bias (RR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.26-1.83), and it was present even when " older" individuals were defined as being as young as 30 years. These findings have important implications for individuals at risk for hepatitis B infection, including health care workers and travelers.
AB - Hepatitis B vaccine is a key tool for the prevention of hepatitis B infection. Age-associated changes in immune function may contribute to decreased vaccine efficacy in older individuals, although research related to this topic has yielded contradictory findings. We performed a meta-analysis of 24 published trials and studies that evaluated the association of age with response to hepatitis B vaccine, using a random-effects model. Pooling of study results suggested a significantly increased risk of nonresponse to hepatitis B vaccine among older individuals (relative risk [RR], 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48-2.10). An elevated risk of nonresponse persisted even after exclusion of poor-quality studies (RR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.23-2.15) and adjustment for publication bias (RR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.26-1.83), and it was present even when " older" individuals were defined as being as young as 30 years. These findings have important implications for individuals at risk for hepatitis B infection, including health care workers and travelers.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036901212&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/344271
DO - 10.1086/344271
M3 - Article
C2 - 12439800
AN - SCOPUS:0036901212
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 35
SP - 1368
EP - 1375
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 11
ER -
