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Investigating the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 vaccination, and autoimmune diseases in a

Cynthia Freiberg1, Arad Dotan2,3, Dana Arnheim2,3

  • 1Maccabi Healthcare Services, Tel Aviv, Israel. cynthia.marciano@mail.huji.ac.il.

Pediatric Rheumatology Online Journal
|May 14, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Autoimmune disease incidence in children remained stable during COVID-19. However, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases, warranting further pediatric research.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric autoimmune diseases
  • Epidemiology
  • Vaccine safety

Background:

  • Reports suggested increased autoimmune diseases (AID) in adults during COVID-19.
  • This study investigated pediatric AID incidence pre- and during the pandemic.
  • Potential links to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination were explored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine pediatric autoimmune disease incidence trends before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • To investigate the association between COVID-19 vaccination and new-onset autoimmune diseases in children.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 493,705 anonymized medical records from Maccabi Healthcare Services (2014-2022).
  • Study period divided into pre-pandemic (2014-2019) and pandemic (2020-2022) phases.
  • Logistic regression and hazard ratios used to assess disease incidence and risk factors.

Main Results:

  • Overall pediatric autoimmune disease incidence remained stable (0.9%-1.0%) across pre-pandemic and pandemic phases (p=0.13).
  • COVID-19 diagnosis was not significantly associated with increased autoimmune disease risk (HR 1.092, p=0.491).
  • Receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine was linked to a higher risk of autoimmune diseases (HR 1.2323, p=0.0033).

Conclusions:

  • Pediatric autoimmune disease incidence was stable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A potential association exists between COVID-19 vaccination and increased autoimmune disease risk in children.
  • Further research is needed to understand the long-term effects of COVID-19 vaccination on pediatric autoimmune disease development.
Abstract

Keywords:
Autoimmune diseasesCOVID-19 infectionCOVID1-19 vaccinationEpidemiologyPediatric rheumatology

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