Immune response to vaccinations potentially reduced with increased exposure to compounds widely used in food packaging

Grandjean P. JAMA. 2012;307:391-397.

Issue: March 2012

Children will likely have reduced antibody responses to tetanus and diphtheria vaccinations after elevated exposure to perfluorinated compounds, which are widely used in food packaging and manufacturing, according to study results published online.

Philippe Grandjean, MD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, and colleagues studied 656 children born from 1999 to 2001 in the Faroe Islands, an island group in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway, where frequent consumption of fish and shellfish is associated with increased exposure to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs).

Maternal serum concentrations showed prenatal exposure to PFCs, which were associated with reduced immune response to diphtheria vaccination.

During the follow-up study through 2008, investigators measured serum antibody concentrations against diphtheria and tetanus toxoids in 587 patients aged 5 to 7 years. Pre-booster results at age 5 showed a 39% reduction in antibody concentration in all but one patient before and after the booster. At 7 years of age, PFC exposure reduced serum antibody concentrations, with a 25% reduction in diphtheria and 36% reduction in tetanus.

“The clinical importance of our findings is therefore that PFC exposure may increase a child’s risk for not being protected against diphtheria and tetanus, despite a full schedule of vaccinations,” Grandjean and colleagues said. “These findings suggest a decreased effect of childhood vaccines and may reflect a more general immune system deficit. Assessment of risk-related exposure to these contaminants therefore needs to consider the immunotoxic potential of the PFCs.”

Disclosure: One researcher reported financial ties to Statens Serum Institut, which manufactures and markets vaccines in Denmark and other countries.

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