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. 2009 Aug;57(8):1427-32.
doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2009.02316.x. Epub 2009 Jun 8.

Does sex influence immunization status for influenza and pneumonia in older veterans?

Bevanne Bean-Mayberry  1 , Elizabeth M Yano, Maria K Mor, Nichole K Bayliss, Xiangyan Xu, Michael J Fine
Affiliations

Does sex influence immunization status for influenza and pneumonia in older veterans?

Bevanne Bean-Mayberry et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the prevalence of influenza and pneumococcal immunization rates according to sex in a national sample of older veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system.

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional.

Setting: VA healthcare system.

Participants: Current VA healthcare system users aged 65 and older eligible for immunization in fiscal years 2001 to 2003 (N=48,424 patient records).

Measurements: Generalized estimating equations were performed to analyze combined chart review and administrative data to determine effect of sex on receipt of influenza and pneumococcal immunizations.

Results: Unadjusted immunization rates were higher for men than women for influenza (73% vs 69%) and pneumococcal (87% vs 83%) vaccine. Adjusting for demographics, clinical comorbidities, use, and region, women had significantly lower odds of influenza (odds ratio (OR)=0.85, 95% confidence interval (CI=0.79-0.92) and pneumococcal (OR=0.77, 95% CI=0.71-0.84) immunization.

Conclusion: Older female veterans have lower rates of immunization than older male veterans in VA settings. Although VA remains above community levels for immunization, older female veterans will benefit from targeted efforts to increase immunization prevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: All of the authors are employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This work is supported by a VA Career Development Award to the principal investigator (Bean-Mayberry). None of the authors have a personal or potential conflict of interest in the design, analyses, interpretation of results or the development of this research paper.

Financial Disclosures: None

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