Childhood Vaccination Schedule Not Linked to Type 1 Diabetes

TUESDAY, Nov. 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) — No concerning associations are seen for measures of the recommended immunization schedule with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) among children, according to a study published online Nov. 9 in Pediatrics.

Jason M. Glanz, Ph.D., from Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver, and colleagues examined the correlation between the recommended immunization schedule and T1DM in a retrospective cohort study of children born between 2004 and 2014. Average days undervaccinated (ADU), cumulative antigen exposure, and cumulative aluminum exposure were examined as measures of the immunization schedule. The correlations between these measures and T1DM incidence were analyzed.

The researchers found that the mean ADU was 38 days, the mean cumulative antigen exposure was 263 antigens, and the mean cumulative aluminum exposure was 4.11 mg in a cohort of 584,171 children. A total of 1,132 incident cases of T1DM were identified. There was no association seen for ADU (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.01; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.99 to 1.02) or cumulative antigen exposure (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.98; 95 percent CI, 0.97 to 1.00) with T1DM. An inverse association was seen for cumulative aluminum exposure >3.00 mg with T1DM (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.77; 95 percent CI, 0.60 to 0.99).

“To maintain public trust in the U.S. childhood immunization program, in future studies, researchers should also continue to examine the safety of the entire recommended immunization schedule relative to other health conditions that concern the public,” the authors write.

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