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Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in comparison with age- and sex-matched controls: results of a claims data analysis

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the vaccination status for influenza and pneumonia and the prevalence of hospitalised pneumonia in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and population controls in Germany. Members of a large statutory health insurance fund in Germany who were continuously insured between 2009 and 2013 and had a diagnosis of RA in 2013 were age and sex matched 1:5 to members without RA. Pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations were evaluated with regard to age, sex and region of residence. Logistic regression models were used to determine predictors for influenza vaccination in RA patients. Prevalences of pneumonia that required hospitalisation were compared to regional vaccination rates. The data of 111,482 RA patients and 557,410 matched controls were available for analysis. Compared to controls, RA patients were vaccinated more frequently against influenza (40.8 vs. 32.2 %) and pneumonia (15.0 vs. 10.0 %). Vaccination rates increased with older age and differed between the federal states (highest in East Germany, lowest in South Germany). The region of residence, comorbidities, rheumatologic care and biologic treatment was associated with a higher probability of an influenza vaccination. Prevalences of pneumonia that required hospitalisation were 2–3 times higher in patients compared to controls and tended to be higher in regions with low vaccination rates. The increased pneumonia prevalence in RA patients confirms their status as a risk group. RA patients are vaccinated more frequently than controls, but vaccination rates are still low. The lower pneumonia prevalence in East Germany indicates that vaccination may help to reduce pneumonia in RA.

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Acknowledgments

The study was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (01EC1405).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Services Research, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany

    A. Luque Ramos & F. Hoffmann

  2. Epidemiology, German Rheumatism Research Centre, Berlin, Germany

    J. Callhoff, A. Zink & K. Albrecht

  3. Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité University Hospital, Berlin, Germany

    A. Zink

Authors
  1. A. Luque Ramos
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  2. F. Hoffmann
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  3. J. Callhoff
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  4. A. Zink
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  5. K. Albrecht
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. Luque Ramos.

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Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Although no ethical approval is required for the analysis of claims data, an ethics vote for PROCLAIR study, which also includes surveys of patients identified via claims data, was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Charité University Medicine, Berlin in 2015 (EA1/051/15). This claims data analysis does not contain personal information. In this case, an informed consent is not necessary in Germany.

Appendix

Appendix

See Fig. 4.

Fig. 4
figure 4

Week of influenza vaccination in RA patients and controls (“Appendix”)

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Luque Ramos, A., Hoffmann, F., Callhoff, J. et al. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in comparison with age- and sex-matched controls: results of a claims data analysis. Rheumatol Int 36, 1255–1263 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-016-3516-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-016-3516-1

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