Rotavirus Vaccination and the Risk of Celiac Disease or Type 1 Diabetes in Finnish Children at Early Life

Abstract

Background: Rotavirus infection has been suggested as a trigger of type 1 diabetes (T1D)-related autoimmunity and celiac disease (CD)-related autoimmunity.

Methods: We carried out a nationwide, population-based cohort study evaluating whether prevention of rotavirus infection with vaccination affects the risk of CD and T1D diagnosed during 2009-2014 in Finnish children by comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children in a cohort born in 2009-2010. Nationwide rotavirus vaccination records were collected from healthcare databases during 2009-2011 and validated for a sample of 495 children born from July 2009 to December 2009. Incident diagnoses of CD and T1D during 2009-2014 in the cohort were identified in the National Care Register.

Results: The adjusted relative risks (with 95% confidence intervals) were 0.91 (0.69-1.20) for T1D and 0.87 (0.65-1.17) for CD in vaccinated children compared with unvaccinated, suggesting that oral rotavirus vaccination does not alter the risk of CD or T1D during 4-6 years follow-up after vaccination.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that oral rotavirus vaccination is considered safe in the individuals at risk of CD and T1D.