Abstract
Background: Findings from animal and human studies confirm that diphtheria and tetanus toxoids
and pertussis (DTP) and tetanus vaccinations induce allergic responses; associations
between childhood vaccinations and subsequent allergies have been reported recently.
Objective: The association of DTP or tetanus vaccination with allergies and allergy-related
respiratory symptoms among children and adolescents in the United States was assessed.
Methods: Data were used from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey on
infants aged 2 months through adolescents aged 16 years. DTP or tetanus vaccination,
lifetime allergy history, and allergy symptoms in the past 12 months were based on
parental or guardian recall. Logistic regression modeling was performed to estimate
the effects of DTP or tetanus vaccination on each allergy. Results: The odds of having a history of asthma was twice as great among vaccinated subjects
than among unvaccinated subjects (adjusted odds ratio, 2.00; 95% confidence interval,
0.59 to 6.74). The odds of having had any allergy-related respiratory symptom in the
past 12 months was 63% greater among vaccinated subjects than unvaccinated subjects
(adjusted odds ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.05 to 2.54). The associations
between vaccination and subsequent allergies and symptoms were greatest among children
aged 5 through 10 years. Conclusions: DTP or tetanus vaccination appears to increase the risk of allergies and related
respiratory symptoms in children and adolescents. Although it is unlikely that these
results are entirely because of any sources of bias, the small number of unvaccinated
subjects and the study design limit our ability to make firm causal inferences about
the true magnitude of effect. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2000;23:81–90)
Keywords
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Footnotes
*Submit reprint requests to: Eric L. Hurwitz, DC, PhD, UCLA School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772; [email protected]
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© 2000 JMPT. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
