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Flu Shots Benefit Anybody
With High-Risk Medical Condition
Feb. 15, 2005 - Persons
younger than 65 with high-risk medical conditions such as chronic lung
and heart disease can substantially benefit from annual influenza
vaccination during an epidemic, according to a study in the February 14
issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives
journals.
Influenza continues to
be a major cause of illness and death, with an annual 140,000
hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths in the United States. Many studies
have shown that influenza vaccination can reduce acute respiratory
disease hospitalizations and death from all causes in the elderly.
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This
analysis, involving 75,227 patient-observations, 30,861 of which were
among high-risk patients younger than 65, is the first large-scale study
to show that influenza vaccination is highly effective in reducing
complications across all age groups, according to the authors.
Eelko Hak, M.Sc., Ph.D.,
of the University Medical Center of Utrecht, the Netherlands, and his
colleagues, used data from Dutch primary care data management centers
during the 1999-2000 influenza A epidemic. In the Netherlands, virtually
all persons recommended for influenza vaccination receive their vaccine
from a general practitioner through a standardized vaccination program.
"To our knowledge, this
is the first study showing high vaccine effectiveness in reducing severe
end points such as deaths (78 percent) and hospitalizations for acute
respiratory and cardiovascular disease (87 percent) among high-risk
persons of working age," the authors stated. According to the
researchers, the study is consistent with other reports that vaccination
may reduce hospital admissions for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular
complications as well as death or hospitalization for influenza or
pneumonia in the elderly.
"
The results of our
study lend strong support for the view that all high-risk persons
benefit from annual influenza vaccination regardless of age," the
authors conclude. "Therefore, efforts should be renewed to convince
providers and patients of the clinical usefulness of such vaccination,
notably among younger high-risk persons."
Editor's Note: This
study was financially supported by the Netherlands Health Care Insurance
Board (Diemen, the Netherlands). The Netherlands Health Care Insurance
Board directly subsidizes the Nethelands Progarm on Influenza. From 1997
to 2003, influenza vaccines were bought centrally from pharmaceutical
industries and distributed by the Netherlands Vaccine Institute. Because
no financial profits could be made by either organization, there is no
conflict of interest. The design, analysis and interpretation of the
study were conducted independently of the Netherlands Health Care
Insurance Board.
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