TY - JOUR
T1 - Diphtheria And Tetanus Vaccination History Is Associated With Lower Odds of COVID-19 Hospitalization
AU - Monereo-Sanchez, J.
AU - Luykx, J.J.
AU - Pinzon-Espinosa, J.
AU - Richard, G.
AU - Motazedi, E.
AU - Westlye, L.T.
AU - Andreassen, O.A.
AU - van der Meer, D.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors were funded by the Research Council of Norway (276082, 213837, 223273, 204966/F20, 229129, 249795/F20, 225989, 248778, 249795, 298646, 300767), the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (2013–123, 2014–097, 2015–073, 2016–064, 2017–004), Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen (SKGJ-Med-008), The European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (ERC Starting Grant, Grant agreement No. 802998) and National Institutes of Health (R01MH100351, R01GM104400).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Monereo-Sánchez, Luykx, Pinzón-Espinosa, Richard, Motazedi, Westlye, Andreassen and van der Meer.
PY - 2021/10/7
Y1 - 2021/10/7
N2 - BackgroundCOVID-19 is characterized by strikingly large, mostly unexplained, interindividual variation in symptom severity: while some individuals remain nearly asymptomatic, others suffer from severe respiratory failure. Previous vaccinations for other pathogens, in particular tetanus, may partly explain this variation, possibly by readying the immune system. MethodsWe made use of data on COVID-19 testing from 103,049 participants of the UK Biobank (mean age 71.5 years, 54.2% female), coupled to immunization records of the last ten years. Using logistic regression, covarying for age, sex, respiratory disease diagnosis, and socioeconomic status, we tested whether individuals vaccinated for tetanus, diphtheria or pertussis, differed from individuals that had only received other vaccinations on 1) undergoing a COVID-19 test, 2) being diagnosed with COVID-19, and 3) whether they developed severe COVID-19 symptoms. ResultsWe found that individuals with registered diphtheria or tetanus vaccinations are less likely to develop severe COVID-19 than people who had only received other vaccinations (diphtheria odds ratio (OR)=0.47, p-value=5.3*10(-5); tetanus OR=0.52, p-value=1.2*10(-4)). DiscussionThese results indicate that a history of diphtheria or tetanus vaccinations is associated with less severe manifestations of COVID-19. These vaccinations may protect against severe COVID-19 symptoms by stimulating the immune system. We note the correlational nature of these results, yet the possibility that these vaccinations may influence the severity of COVID-19 warrants follow-up investigations.
AB - BackgroundCOVID-19 is characterized by strikingly large, mostly unexplained, interindividual variation in symptom severity: while some individuals remain nearly asymptomatic, others suffer from severe respiratory failure. Previous vaccinations for other pathogens, in particular tetanus, may partly explain this variation, possibly by readying the immune system. MethodsWe made use of data on COVID-19 testing from 103,049 participants of the UK Biobank (mean age 71.5 years, 54.2% female), coupled to immunization records of the last ten years. Using logistic regression, covarying for age, sex, respiratory disease diagnosis, and socioeconomic status, we tested whether individuals vaccinated for tetanus, diphtheria or pertussis, differed from individuals that had only received other vaccinations on 1) undergoing a COVID-19 test, 2) being diagnosed with COVID-19, and 3) whether they developed severe COVID-19 symptoms. ResultsWe found that individuals with registered diphtheria or tetanus vaccinations are less likely to develop severe COVID-19 than people who had only received other vaccinations (diphtheria odds ratio (OR)=0.47, p-value=5.3*10(-5); tetanus OR=0.52, p-value=1.2*10(-4)). DiscussionThese results indicate that a history of diphtheria or tetanus vaccinations is associated with less severe manifestations of COVID-19. These vaccinations may protect against severe COVID-19 symptoms by stimulating the immune system. We note the correlational nature of these results, yet the possibility that these vaccinations may influence the severity of COVID-19 warrants follow-up investigations.
KW - COVID-19
KW - vaccination
KW - diphtheria
KW - tetanus
KW - clinical variation
U2 - 10.3389/fimmu.2021.749264
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2021.749264
M3 - Article
C2 - 34691063
SN - 1664-3224
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Immunology
JF - Frontiers in Immunology
M1 - 749264
ER -