ESPID: Gender doesn't affect child mortality after vaccines

(HealthDay)—There are no gender-specific differences in child mortality related to the type of vaccine last administered, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases, held from May 6 to 10 in Dublin.

Tessa Schurink-van 't Klooster, from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, Netherlands, and colleagues analyzed mortality data in a cohort of all Dutch children (aged 0 to 11 years in 2000 until 2011), and comparisons were made by gender.

The researchers found that over 30,023,459 person years, 21,362 children died (mortality rate 7.1/10,000 person years). For girls, mortality rate ratios (MRRs) ranged between 0.81 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.74 to 0.89) in children 2 to 13 months old and 0.90 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.77 to 1.07) in children aged 9 to 11 years, compared to boys. Analysis by the type of vaccine last received did not significantly change MRRs.

"The findings of this large population-based study are reassuring for continued trust in the safety of the national immunization program in high income countries," Schurink-van 't Klooster said in a statement. "However, ongoing evaluation of potential non-specific effects of vaccination on mortality and morbidity is needed to provide accurate information of the benefits and risks of vaccination."

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