tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6592607595936297457.post1830737973748026774..comments2024-03-27T05:14:13.995-04:00Comments on Anthrax Vaccine -- posts by Meryl Nass, M.D.: Early diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination associated with higher female mortality and no difference in male mortality/ Arch Disease ChildhoodMeryl Nass, M.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/07001997291638442225noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6592607595936297457.post-80001542178574741112015-02-18T10:08:43.456-05:002015-02-18T10:08:43.456-05:00Studied in a different way, Aaby's group found...Studied in a different way, Aaby's group found up to a 20-fold increase in female twin mortality after MMR compared to its male twin.<br /><br />http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15082642<br /> <br />Int J Epidemiol. 2004 Apr;33(2):367-73.<br />Divergent female-male mortality ratios associated with different routine vaccinations among female-male twin pairs.<br />Aaby P1, Jensen H, Rodrigues A, Garly ML, Benn CS, Lisse IM, Simondon F.<br />Author information<br />Abstract<br />BACKGROUND:<br />Observational studies have suggested that vaccinations have non-specific effects that differ by sex. In the absence of randomized trials, studies of female-male twin pairs would allow us to investigate whether an intervention had sex-specific effects on survival. We therefore examined mortality patterns among female-male twin pairs according to vaccination status. Design We identified female-male twin pairs using the population registers from one urban district and three rural studies from Guinea-Bissau and Senegal and examined the female-male mortality ratio (MR) according to the last vaccine received among pairs in which a death occurred before 18 months of age. As background information, we examined sex- and age-specific mortality patterns in the pre-vaccination era. Subjects In all, 626 female-male twin pairs identified between 1978 and 2000.<br />RESULTS:<br />There was no sex difference in mortality for boys and girls in the pre-vaccination era. In the combined analysis of all studies, the female-male MR was 0.25 (95% CI: 0.05, 0.93) for pairs having received Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) as the last vaccine, 7.33 (95% CI: 2.20, 38.3) for pairs having received diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP) as the last vaccine, and 0.40 (95% CI: 0.04, 2.44) for pairs having received measles vaccine as the last vaccine. The female-male MR varied significantly for BCG compared with DTP (exact test of homogeneity, P < 0.001) and for DTP compared with measles vaccine (exact test of homogeneity, P = 0.001).<br />CONCLUSION:<br />Non-specific effects of routine vaccinations are likely to be important and influence sex-specific mortality patterns in areas with high mortality. The effects of vaccines need to be considered in the planning of immunization programmes for low-income countries.Meryl Nass, M.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07001997291638442225noreply@blogger.com