Too few adults with work-related asthma receive pneumococcal vaccine

Slightly more than half of all adults with work-related asthma had received a pneumococcal vaccine — less than the Healthy People 2020 target level recommended by the CDC, study data showed.

The Healthy People 2020 initiative aims to increase the pneumococcal vaccination coverage of high-risk patients from 16.6% in 2008 to 60% in 2020. The CDC recommends that every adult with asthma undergo pneumococcal vaccination. Researchers noted that those with work-related asthma are particularly vulnerable because the condition is linked with poorly controlled asthma, more asthma-related health care utilization and more frequent asthma attacks.

 “To improve pneumococcal disease prevention among adults with asthma, both work and non-work-related, we recommend healthcare providers verify if their patients who have asthma have received the recommended pneumococcal vaccine, and offer the vaccine to those not vaccinated,”  Katelynn E. Dodd, MPH, of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the CDC, told Infectious Disease News.  “Patients with asthma can also take an active role by knowing their vaccine status and asking their health care providers about the vaccine.”The researchers used data from the 2012 to 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Asthma Call-back Survey to identify adults with asthma who had been employed at some point in their lives, identifying those with work-related asthma as any participant who had been told by a physician that their asthma was job related. The survey included participants aged 18 to 64 years in 29 states.

Nearly half (42%) of 12 million ever-employed adults in the survey had received a pneumococcal vaccine, Dodd and colleagues reported. Those who had work-related asthma were more likely to have received a pneumococcal vaccine than those with asthma not related to work (53.7% vs. 35%; prevalence ratio = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.06-1.45).

Hispanic patients had the lowest vaccination coverage of those with work-related asthma (36.2%), followed by patients who did not have health insurance (38.5%, the researchers reported.

“Our study found that the vaccination coverage for pneumococcal disease among adults who have ever worked and have asthma falls short of achieving the coverage public health experts recommend,” Dodd said in a press release accompanying the study. “To increase the number of adults with asthma who are vaccinated against pneumococcal disease, we recommend that health care providers verify if their patients who have asthma have received a pneumococcal vaccine and offer the vaccine to those not vaccinated.” – by Andy Polhamus

Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.