Mental health may not play a role in vaccine uptake in high-income settings

1. Overall, this systematic review found no consistent relationship between mental health issues and vaccine uptake.

2. However, there was an overall trend in children with learning disabilities being more likely to have missing vaccines, while in adults aged 50-65 years, it was found that those with mental health issues had consistently higher odds of getting vaccinated compared to those without mental health issues.

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent)

Vaccination in individuals with mental health issues is of great importance because they may suffer from higher rates of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, this population may also have unequal access to healthcare services, including vaccination. Prior studies have not systematically evaluated the relationship between mental health issues and vaccine uptake. As a result, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of mental health on vaccine uptake in high-income areas where access to vaccination services is usually available.

Of 4069 identified records, 23 were included for qualitative synthesis from various databases from 2000 to 2021. Studies were included if they evaluated the uptake and timing of a recommended vaccine for an individual or relative with a mental health issue in a high-income country, as defined by the World Bank. The review was performed using PRISMA guidelines. Risk of bias was assessed using the ROBINS-I tool. The primary outcome was vaccine uptake for individuals with a mental health issue in high-income countries.

The results demonstrated that although there were inconsistent results in adults, studies investigating adults ages 50-65 years found that those with mental health issues had consistently higher odds of getting vaccinated compared to those without mental health issues. There were inconsistencies among children as well, however there was a trend in children with learning disabilities being more likely to have missing vaccines. Overall, there were no consistent trends across ages for various mental health issues. The study was limited by the high risk of selection bias in many of the included studies, which may have underestimated the effect of mental health on vaccination rates. Nonetheless, the present study adds preliminary data helping future researchers to understand the link between mental health issues and vaccine uptake.

Click to read the study in BMC Psychiatry

Image: PD

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