Eczema, wheeze unrelated to infants' vaccine status

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Vaccination against diphtheria, pertussis (whopping cough), polio virus, tetanus and Haemophilus influenzae type b in the first 6 months of life seems to have little effect on the development of eczema or recurrent wheeze at one year, Dutch researchers report.

Infant vaccinations have been suggested as the cause of atopic disease. Atopy refers to the tendency to develop allergies, such as "atopic" dermatitis, hay fever and asthma. Atopy occurs as a result of an excessive inflammatory response to everyday environmental substances, such as dust mites and grass pollen.

The goal of the present study, reported in the journal Pediatrics, was to determine the impact of atopic disease on infants who receive standard, incomplete, or no vaccinations.

The analysis involved 2,764 families who participated in the KOALA Birth Cohort Study in the Netherlands. Infant vaccination status as well as the occurrence of eczema and recurrent wheeze was ascertained through repeated questionnaires.

A standard vaccination schedule was defined as three diphtheria, pertussis, poliomyelitis, tetanus, or Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccinations in the first 6 months of life, with the first vaccine given between 1 and 3 months. Any other vaccination schedule was considered incomplete.

The rates of eczema and recurrent wheeze in the first year of life were 23 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively, lead author Dr. Ischa Kummeling, from Maastricht University, and colleagues note.

Of the 2,545 infants included in the study, 77 percent had a standard vaccination schedule, 15 percent had an incomplete schedule, and 7 percent were never vaccinated.

No statistically significant differences in the incidence of eczema and recurrent wheeze were noted among the three infant groups, the report indicates.

"Our study shows that the risk of eczema or recurrent wheeze at the age of 1 year does not differ between infants with different vaccination statuses at age 6 months," Kummeling's team concludes.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, February 2007.