title: Assessment of sex-specific differences in adverse events following immunization reporting in Ontario, 2012-15.
abstract: We assessed sex-specific trends within passive vaccine safety surveillance in Ontario, Canada. AEFIs reported following vaccines administered between 2012 and 2015 were included. There were 2466 AEFI reports; 66.2% were female. Annualized reporting rates were 5.9 and 3.1 per 100,000 population, for females and males respectively. The female:male reporting rate ratio (RRR) was 1.9. Sex-specific differences by age group were greatest in adults 18-64years (RRR 6.3); whereas there were no differences in children <10years. Vaccine-specific RRRs were highest for vaccines recommended for routine use in adults or high risk populations. All event categories were female-predominant. The highest event-specific RRRs were for oculorespiratory syndrome (5.1), anaesthesia/paraesthesia (4.6) and anaphylaxis (3.0). Serious AEFIs (n=113) were more evenly distributed (57.5% female, RRR 1.3) than non-serious (66.6% female, RRR 1.9). AEFI reporting among females was consistently elevated within the passive surveillance system in Ontario. Further study of the relationship between sex/gender and AEFI reporting is needed.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: tara.harris@oahpp.ca.
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jyotsna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fediurek
authors.affiliation: Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Shelley L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Deeks
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adverse events; Gender; Sex; Surveillance; Vaccine safety