Swine Flu Vaccination Linked to Increased Risk of Narcolepsy in Young Adults
Pandemrix is an influenza vaccination, created in 2009 to combat H1N1, known as swine flu. Now, a team of Swedish clinicians testing the vaccine for links to immune-related or neurological diseases has linked Pandemrix to an increased risk of narcolepsy in young adults.
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Using a population-based prospective cohort study, the team analyzed data from regional vaccination registries and national health registries, covering seven healthcare regions and 61 percent of the Swedish population.
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While the team did not identify any link to a large number of immune-related or neurological diseases, they did confirm an increased risk in diagnosis of narcolepsy in individuals younger than 20 years of age, and observed a trend towards an increased risk amongst young adults between 21 and 30.
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The follow-up of Pandemrix vaccinations in a large registry based study in Sweden confirms an increased risk of narcolepsy in children and adolescents, while also providing reassuring results for a large number of other neurological and immune related diseases, says Dr. I. Persson from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.
Source: Wiley
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