RACIAL AND GENDER DISPARITIES EXIST IN INFLUENZA VACCINATION RATES AMONG PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION Immunosuppressive therapies used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are associated with an increased risk of infections, including vaccine-preventable diseases (VDP). Though patients with IBD have lower vaccination rates than the general population, no studies have assessed whether there are disparities in vaccination rates among patients with IBD. Determining if these disparities exist is of importance to assure high uptake of the a COVID-19 vaccine. The aim of this study was to determine if racial or ethnic disparities existed in immunization rates among patients with IBD at two tertiary referral medical centers. METHODS This was a retrospective case control study of patients with IBD at two tertiary referral IBD centers which included urban and rural patients. Patients who were 18 years or above and were seen in IBD clinic between 09/2019 and 02/2020 immunization rates. Each patient needed an active record in the Wisconsin Immunization Registry, which has very high rates of immunization documentation and is close to a comprehensive immunization record. For each patient, the WIR was accessed to obtain immunization data for pneumococcal 13 (PCV13), pneumococcal 23 (PPSV23) and influenza. Data analysis involved a Pearson’s chi-squared test for categorical variables. RESULTS In total 1968 patients with IBD were included in the study. Demographics are in Table 1. Average age was 46.8 years. 53% patients were female and 47% were male. 90.7% were White and 6.3% were Black. There was no significant difference between the number of female vs male patients. Black patients had significantly lower rate of influenza vaccination rates than white patients in for two influenza seasons (2019-2020, 2018-2019). (Table 2) There was no difference in pneumococcal immunization rates among the groups. Female patients had a significantly higher rate of influenza vaccination rates than male patients for each season. (Table 3) CONCLUSION This is the first study to demonstrate racial and gender disparities in influenza vaccination rates among patients with IBD. Future studies are needed to determine causes for and strategies to remediate racial and gender disparities in immunization rates. Identifying these barriers is imperative especially since certain ethnic and racial groups are at increased risk for a COVID illness and may display vaccine hesitancy. Efforts to ensure all patients with IBD have high uptake for COVID 19 vaccines is essential.(Table presented)