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Research Paper

Vaccination and risk of lone atrial fibrillation in the active component United States military

ORCID Icon, , , &
Pages 669-676 | Received 29 Aug 2018, Accepted 07 Nov 2018, Published online: 08 Jan 2019
 

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To evaluate the hypothesis that receipt of anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA) increases the risk of atrial fibrillation in the absence of identifiable underlying risk factors or structural heart disease (lone atrial fibrillation).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study among U.S. military personnel who were on active duty during the period from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2006. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes were used to identify individuals diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in the Defense Medical Surveillance System, and electronic records were screened to include only individuals without evidence of predisposing medical conditions. We used multivariable Poisson regression to estimate the risk of lone atrial fibrillation after exposure to AVA. We also evaluated possible associations with influenza and smallpox vaccines.

Results: Our study population consisted of 2,957,091individuals followed for 11,329,746 person-years of service. Of these, 2,435 met our case definition for lone atrial fibrillation, contributing approximately 8,383 person-years of service. 1,062,176 (36%) individuals received at least one dose of AVA; the median person time observed post-exposure was 3.6 years. We found no elevated risk of diagnosed lone atrial fibrillation associated with AVA (adjusted risk ratio = 0.99; 95% confidence interval = 0.90, 1.09; p = 0.84). No elevated risk was observed for lone atrial fibrillation associated with influenza or smallpox vaccines given during military service.

Conclusions: We did not find an increased risk of lone atrial fibrillation after AVA, influenza or smallpox vaccine. These findings may be helpful in planning future vaccine safety research.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their valuable contribution to this investigation: LTC Steven K. Tobler, LTC Patrick M. Garman, Dr. Dale Burwen, Dr. Robert Ball and Dr. Linda Neff for their review of the manuscript and Dr. Judit Jassó for technical assistance.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Disclaimer

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported solely by the CDC and no external funding was secured.

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