Routine childhood vaccinations did not increase the risk of incident type 1 diabetes in Danish children

摘要

The study by Hviid et al contributes new evidence refuting a correlation between childhood immunisations and development of type 1 diabetes. Although some studies have suggested a link,1"3 no other researchers have verified this, and recent reports and studies reject this theory,The size of the cohort and the length of follow up add strength to the study conclusion. The authors estimated rate ratios, a statistical analysis that allows comparison of the incidence rates of a condition in 2 groups. In this case, the groups were defined according to vaccination status, which was considered to change over time, so that children in the study contributed person-years as both unvaccinated and vaccinated participants.In addition, the authors considered whether a trend was associated with the number of vaccination doses. Children who had siblings with type 1 diabetes were considered as a subgroup because genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes is a well documented risk factor.Although vaccination schedules vary among countries, the findings of this and other studies are relevant to all nurses providing advice to parents about childhood immunisation, particularly families where a strong genetic tendency to diabetes already exists. These families should be counselled that current evidence does not support a causal link between childhood vaccination and type 1 diabetes.