Is there a difference in the immune response, efficacy, effectiveness and safety of seasonal influenza vaccine in males and females? A systematic review

Resource type: Publication Publication
  • Authors
    Tadount, Fazia; Doyon-Plourde, Pamela; Rafferty, Ellen; MacDonald, Shannon; Sadarangani, Manish; Quach, Caroline
  • Type
    Original research
  • Journal
    Vaccine
  • Publication Date
    2020
  • Abstract

    Introduction: Seasonal influenza is an important cause of morbidity and mortality, despite being vaccine-preventable. Sex factors (genes and hormones) seem to impact individuals’ susceptibility to infectious diseases and their response to vaccination. However, most vaccine studies do not explicitly assess sex differences in vaccine response, but rather adjust for sex.

    Methods: We conducted a systematic review to analyze immunogenicity, efficacy, effectiveness and/or safety of seasonal influenza vaccine data stratified by sex. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science and clinicaltrials.gov for observational studies and phase III/IV trials from January 1990 to June 2018, published in English or French. Two reviewers independently screened all references, then proceeded to data extraction and quality assessment using the Cochrane tools (RoB and ROBINS-I) on included studies.

Access Publication