Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Background: Obesity, a growing health crisis in the United States, is an independent risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality from infection with influenza. Annual vaccination is the preferred strategy to prevent infection with influenza virus, but obesity is associated with decreased protective antibody titer against influenza compared to that of healthy-weight individuals post-vaccination. No previous studies have compared the immune response to influenza vaccine with duration of obesity. Objective: This study employed a sample of twenty short-term obese individuals and twenty long-term obese individuals to determine the IgG antibody response to the 2014- 15 inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine pre-vaccination and thirty days postvaccination. Results: There was no significant difference in mean IgG 1, 2 or total IgG antibody titer for short term obese and long term obese individuals as detected by ELISA. However, long-term obese individuals did have a higher IgG 2 antibody titer than did short-term obese individuals. Additionally, the youngest, long-term obese individuals had the lowest pre-vaccination IgG 1 and IgG Total antibody titers, which started higher and negatively correlated with age for short term obese individuals pre- and post-vaccination as well as long-term obese individuals post-vaccination (Figures 4 and 6). Conclusions: While we did not find differences in immune response to influenza vaccination as measured by IgG antibody titer due to duration of obesity, these data that the age of obesity onset may have an effect on immune response to influenza vaccination.
DOI: 10.17615/d9yr-0w87
Author: Wheeler, Emily
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3134942062