Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics, Fondazione IRCCS Cà
Granda – Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan, Italy
Note: [] Correspondence: Dr. Pontari Sara Laura, Department of
Pediatrics, via Commenda 9 20122 Milan, Italy. Tel.: +39 0255032452; Fax: +39
0276113101 or +39 0250320226; E-mail: saralaura.pontari@virgilio.it
Abstract: Celiac disease (CD) is a clinical condition potentially impairing
the immune system. We tested the hypothesis that CD could hinder seroconversion
following hepatitis B vaccine (HBV). We compared 81 consecutive CD patients (24
male and 57 female) with a median [interquartile range (IQR)] age of 10 (7) yr
(range 2–30 yr) and 50 controls (26 male and 24 female) with a median
(IQR) age 7 (7) yr (range 1–26 yr) who received a standard immunisation
schedule with HBV given at 3, 5 and 11 mo of. The median (IQR) interval from
the last dose of HBV was higher in CD patients as compared to controls [10 (7),
range 2–29 yr vs. 6 (7), range 1–26 yr; P < 0.0001]. The median
(IQR) age of gluten introduction was comparable in the two groups [6 (1), range
4–12 mo vs. 6(1), range 5–11 mo]. The median (IQR) duration of
gluten intake in the CD group was 3.5 (4.8) yr (range 0.2–12.3 yr). 33 of
81 (40%) CD patients did not seroconvert (anti-HBs < 10 IU/mL), compared
with 10 of 50 (20%) controls (P < 0.05). The odds ratio of a protective
anti-HBs titer in CD patients vs. controls was 0.36 (95% 0.16–0.83, P
< 0.0001), and was not associated with gender, interval from the last
administration of HBV, or duration of pre-diagnosis gluten intake in CD
patients. Our results are consistent with previous observations that CD
patients are less likely to be protected by HBV, which may have important
public health implications.
