Vaccination against influenza reduces elderly hospitalizations.

2003 MAY 14 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Elderly adults who were vaccinated against influenza had lower rates of hospitalization for heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and pneumonia, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Upper respiratory tract illnesses have been associated with an increased risk of ischemic heart disease and stroke," said Kristin L. Nichol at the University of Minnesota and colleagues at HealthPartners Research Foundation, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Oxford Health Plan, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "During two influenza seasons, we assessed the influence of vaccination against influenza on the risk of hospitalization for heart disease and stroke, hospitalization for pneumonia and influenza, and death from all causes."

The investigators collected data on adults older than 65 years during the 1998-1999 influenza season (n=140,055) and the 1999-2000 season (n=146,328). In the earlier cohort, 55.5% of the subjects were vaccinated against influenza, while 59.7% of the later cohort received influenza vaccinations.

"At baseline, vaccinated subjects were on average sicker, having higher rates of most coexisting conditions, outpatient care, and prior hospitalization for pneumonia than unvaccinated subjects," reported the researchers. "Unvaccinated subjects, however, were more likely to have been given a prior diagnosis of dementia or stroke."

The vaccinated subjects of both cohorts were 19% less likely than unvaccinated subjects to require hospitalization for heart disease (p

"In the elderly, vaccination against influenza is associated with reductions in the risk of hospitalization for heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, ...