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Earlier measles immunization reduced seizure risk
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Children aged 12 to 15 months who receive measles-containing vaccines have a decreased risk for fever and seizures compared with those who receive them at age 16 to 23 months, according to recent study findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.
“We found that the magnitude of increased risk of fever and seizures following immunization with measles-containing vaccines during the second year of life depends on age,” Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, MD, MPH, PhD, of the University of Washington, said in a press release. “While measles-containing vaccines administered at 12 to 15 months of age are associated with a small risk of fever and seizures following immunization, delayed administration at 16 to 23 months of age are results in a greater risk of those adverse events.”
Ali Rowhani-Rahbar
The retrospective cohort study included 840,348 children aged 12 to 23 months who received a measles-containing vaccine from 2001 to 2011.
Researchers found that fever and seizure incidence occurred most frequently in the 7 to 10 days after immunization. Fever incidence steadily declined from age 12 to 13 months to age 19 to 23 months. Seizure incidence was highest among participants aged 16 to 18 months. Participants aged 16 to 23 months had a higher RR of seizure (RR=6.5; 95% CI, 5.3-8.1) compared with those aged 12 to 15 months (RR=3.4; 95% CI, 3-3.9). The risk for seizure attributable to the vaccine during the 7 to 10 days after immunization was higher among participants aged 16 to 23 months (9.5 excess cases per 10,000 doses) compared with participants aged 12 to 15 months (4 excess cases per 10,000 doses).
“The safety profile of vaccines at different ages is another important consideration in immunization policy decision making,” the researchers wrote. “Our findings are of direct relevance to the recommended childhood immunization schedule; they support the timely immunization of children with the first dose of measles-containing vaccines in accordance with current recommendations.”
Disclosure: See study for a full list of disclosure.
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