No link between lupus and vaccination – new study finding

Vaccinations do not increase a person’s risk of developing lupus, says research published in Arthritis and Rheumatology.
A total of 105 people from 36 specialist centres investigated the relationship between the onset of systemic lupus erythematosus and vaccinations. The participants were at least 60 years old and had been recently diagnosed as having either definite or probable systemic lupus erythematosus. They were compared to healthy people of the same age, sex and region.
Telephone interviews established who had been vaccinated 12 and 24 months before the date when their first symptoms of lupus appeared.
Of the 105 people with systemic lupus erythematosus, 21% had received at least one vaccination in the 24 months before the date that symptoms appeared, compared to 25.4% of the control group. Figures were similar for those vaccinated within the previous 12 months.
“Our study showed no association between exposure to vaccination and risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus,” the research team concludes.
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