Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Requiring Hospitalization

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Infectious Diseases
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) disproportionately affect Plain communities due to lower immunization rates.
• Penn State Health Children's Hospital serves a significant Amish and Mennonite population.
• Understanding VPD characteristics in hospitalized children is crucial for targeted public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the characteristics of children hospitalized with VPDs.
• To compare the risk of VPD hospitalization between Amish and non-Amish children.
• To investigate the association between Plain affiliation and vaccination status.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of medical records for children (<18 years) diagnosed with VPDs from 2005-2015.
• Utilized International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for case identification.
• Calculated hospitalization risk ratios and assessed vaccination status correlation with Plain affiliation.

Main Results:

• 221 VPDs occurred in 215 children; 81% in non-Plain children.
• Amish children had a 2.67 times higher risk of VPD hospitalization (RR: 2.67; 95% CI: 1.87-3.82).
• A strong negative correlation (r = -0.63, P < .01) existed between Plain affiliation and vaccination status.

Conclusions:

• Amish children exhibit a significantly increased risk for VPD hospitalization compared to non-Plain children.
• Most hospitalized children with VPDs were unvaccinated or immunocompromised, except for pneumococcal infections.
• Addressing vaccination disparities in Plain communities is essential for reducing VPD burden.