Influenza vaccination during pregnancy not associated with adverse childhood outcomes

A new study published in JAMA Network found that maternal influenza vaccination during pregnancy was not significantly associated with the risk of immune-related health outcomes, such as asthma or infections; nonimmune–related outcomes such as neoplasms or sensory impairment; or nonspecific health outcomes such as emergency visits or hospitalizations.  

Researchers in Canada conducted the population-based, retrospective cohort study to examine if seasonal influenza vaccination in pregnancy was associated with adverse childhood health outcomes. They used inverse probability of treatment weighting and included 28,255 children with a mean duration follow-up of 3.6 years. The researchers used a birth registry connected to health administrative data. All live births in Nova Scotia, Canada, between October 2010 and March 2014 were included, with follow-up until March 31, 2016. Among 28,255 children, 10,227 (36%) were born to women who received seasonal influenza vaccination during pregnancy.  

On the basis of their findings, the authors concluded that seasonal influenza vaccination in pregnancy was not significantly linked to adverse early childhood health outcomes among offspring.