title: The immunogenicity of a single dose of hepatitis A virus vaccines (Havrix® and Epaxal®) in Korean young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Assessing the immunogenicity of a single dose of hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccines is important because some people receive only a single dose. However, previous studies have shown variable results and have not examined the effects of demographic characteristics other than gender. This study was performed to examine the immunogenicity of a single dose of HAV vaccine according to the vaccine type and demographic characteristics in young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seronegative medical school students were randomly allocated to receive either Havrix or Epaxal.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After approximately 11 months, the seroconversion rate in 451 participants was 80.7%. In men, the Havrix group showed a significantly higher seroconversion rate (81.9%) than the Epaxal group (69.2%), whereas both vaccine groups showed similarly high immunogenicity in women (Havrix: 90.1%, Epaxal: 92.9%; P for interaction=0.062). According to the results of a multivariate analysis, Epaxal showed significantly lower immunogenicity than Havrix only in men. Age, obesity, drinking, smoking, and follow-up time did not significantly affect seroconversion in either gender.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The seroconversion rate of single-dose HAV vaccines was low in men, particularly in those who received Epaxal. Our results suggest that gender effects should be considered when comparing the immunogenicity of different HAV vaccines.
authors: Department of Preventive Medicine, Eulji University School of Medicine, 77 Gyeryong-ro 771beon-gil, Jung-gu, Daejeon 301-808, Korea. moranki@naver.com.
authors: Jiseun
authors: J
authors: Lim
authors: Yeong-Jun
authors: YJ
authors: Song
authors: Woong-Sub
authors: WS
authors: Park
authors: Haesook
authors: H
authors: Sohn
authors: Moo-Sik
authors: MS
authors: Lee
authors: Dong-Hoon
authors: DH
authors: Shin
authors: Chun-Bae
authors: CB
authors: Kim
authors: Hwasung
authors: H
authors: Kim
authors: Gyung-Jae
authors: GJ
authors: Oh
authors: Moran
authors: M
authors: Ki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines; D017957:Hepatitis A Virus, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D022362:Hepatitis A Vaccines; C530970:epaxal berna
keywords: Hepatitis A virus; hepatitis A vaccine; immune; vaccine; young adults