Flu Vaccine Uptake Remains Suboptimal Among Patients With Early RA

Women, smokers, and non-White patients were less likely to get vaccinations against influenza than other patients recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Canadian researchers found in a recent study.

Patients enrolled in the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort between September 2017 and February 2021 reported their vaccination status and completed a questionnaire about their beliefs regarding medications, the authors reported. The investigators then obtained clinical data and used logistic regression to identify factors that might predict which patients would and would not receive vaccines in the year following their diagnosis.

In the baseline sample of 431 patients, 80% were White and 67% were women; the mean age of these patients was 56 (SD 14) years. Prior to diagnosis with RA, the influenza vaccine coverage among these patients was 38%. That coverage increased to 46% following RA diagnosis in the longitudinal sample (n = 229). Participants who had previously received an influenza vaccination (odds ratio [OR] 15.33; 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.37-36.90), those being treated with biologics or Janus-kinase inhibitors (OR 5.42; 95% CI 1.72-17.03), and those whose scores on the medication beliefs questionnaire showed more higher changes (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.02-1.15) had greater odds of receiving an influenza vaccine. Women (OR 0.32; 95% CI 0.14-0.71), patients with a non-White racial background (OR 0.13; 95% CI 0.04-0.51), and current smokers(OR 0.09; 95% CI 0.02-0.37) had lower odds of receiving the vaccine, the researchers reported.

“Influenza vaccination coverage in patients with early RA remains below national targets in adults living with a chronic condition,” the authors wrote. “Discussing vaccine history and medication attitudes at initial clinic visits with new patients with RA may enhance vaccine acceptance and uptake.”

—Rebecca Mashaw

Reference:
Ta V, Schieir O, Valois MF, et al. Predictors of influenza vaccination in early rheumatoid arthritis 2017-2021: Results from the Canadian Early Arthritis cohort. 2022; ACR Open Rheumatol. Published online ahead of print March 29, 2022.