Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2004 Jun;94(6):985-9.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.94.6.985.

Vaccination and allergic disease: a birth cohort study

Affiliations

Vaccination and allergic disease: a birth cohort study

Tricia M McKeever et al. Am J Public Health. 2004 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined the effect of vaccination for diphtheria; polio; pertussis and tetanus; or measles, mumps, and rubella on the incidence of physician-diagnosed asthma and eczema.

Methods: We used a previously established birth cohort in the West Midlands General Practice research database.

Results: We found an association between vaccination and the development of allergic disease; however, this association was present only among children with the fewest physician visits and can be explained by this factor.

Conclusions: Our data suggest that currently recommended routine vaccinations are not a risk factor for asthma or eczema.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Vaccination and risk of allergic disease.
    Hurwitz EL, Morgenstern H. Hurwitz EL, et al. Am J Public Health. 2005 Jan;95(1):6; author reply 6-7. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.050583. Am J Public Health. 2005. PMID: 15623850 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Chadwick DJ, Cardew G. The Rising Trends in Asthma. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons; 1997.
    1. Sen DK, Arora S, Gupta S, Sanyal RK. Studies of adrenergic mechanisms in relation to histamine sensitivity in children immunized with Bordetella pertussis vaccine. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1974;54:25–31. - PubMed
    1. Odelram H, Granstrom M, Hedenskog S, Duchen K, Bjorksten B. Immunoglobulin E and G responses to pertussis toxin after booster immunization in relation to atopy, local reactions and aluminium content of the vaccines. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 1994; 5:118–123. - PubMed
    1. Karmaus W, Botezan C. Does a higher number of siblings protect against the development of allergy and asthma? A review. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2002;56:209–217. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Strachan DP. Hay Fever, hygiene, and household size. BMJ. 1989;299:1259–1260. - PMC - PubMed