Elsevier

Academic Pediatrics

Volume 16, Issue 1, January–February 2016, Pages 68-74
Academic Pediatrics

Asthma
Influenza Vaccination Among US Children With Asthma, 2005–2013

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2015.10.006Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

Children with asthma face higher risk of complications from influenza. Trends in influenza vaccination among children with asthma are unknown.

Methods

We used 2005–2013 National Health Interview Survey data for children 2 to 17 years of age. We assessed, separately for children with and without asthma, any vaccination (received August through May) during each of the 2005–2006 through 2012–2013 influenza seasons and, for the 2010–2011 through 2012–2013 seasons only, early vaccination (received August through October). We used April–July interviews each year (n = 31,668) to assess vaccination during the previous influenza season. Predictive margins from logistic regression with time as the independent and vaccination status as the dependent variable were used to assess time trends. We also estimated the association between several sociodemographic variables and the likelihood of influenza vaccination.

Results

From 2005 to 2013, among children with asthma, influenza vaccination receipt increased about 3 percentage points per year (P < .001), reaching 55% in 2012–2013. The percentage of all children with asthma vaccinated by October (early vaccination) was slightly above 30% in 2012–2013. In 2010–2013, adolescents, the uninsured, children of parents with some college education, and those living in the Midwest, South, and West were less likely to be vaccinated.

Conclusions

The percentage of children 2 to 17 years of age with asthma receiving influenza vaccination has increased since 2004–2005, reaching approximately 55% in 2012–2013.

Section snippets

Data Source

Data are from the 2005–2013 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationally representative survey with a complex sample design, administered by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Data were from in-house NCHS files, which can be accessed in the NCHS Research Data Center. Within each participating family, one child 0 to 17 years of age (the sample child) was randomly selected, and health-related information was obtained from in-person interviews with a knowledgeable adult

Results

Approximately 10% of children (standard error [SE] 0.2) had asthma across the 2005–2013 influenza seasons (Online Appendix Table 2), or an average of approximately 6.6 million children during each influenza season.

Discussion

Between 2005 and 2013, the percentage of children in the United States with asthma who received an influenza vaccination increased approximately 3 percentage points per year. The overall gain for children with asthma of approximately 23 percentage points (from 32% in 2004–2005 to nearly 55% in 2012–2013) was smaller than the overall gain for children without asthma of 33 percentage points (from approximately 12% in 2004–2005 to 45% in 2012–2013). The changes in the ACIP recommendations in 2006

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    The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official positions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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