Immunization Status of Adult Chiropractic Patients in Analyses of National Health Interview Survey

Abstract

Objective Two recent studies that examined National Health Interview Survey data reported divergent findings regarding the propensity of adult chiropractic users to receive seasonal influenza immunization. Although one study found a statistically significant negative association between chiropractic use and influenza vaccination, another found that chiropractic users were significantly more likely to be vaccinated. The purpose of this study is to extend previous works by delving more deeply into recent data to identify adult chiropractic users at high risk and high priority for vaccination against influenza and pneumococcal disease. Methods We used data from the 2007 National Health Interview Survey in an attempt to replicate previous methodologies and further examine vaccination among adult chiropractic users (age ≥18 years) who, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, should receive influenza and/or pneumococcal vaccination. We used complex survey design methods to make national estimates and used logistic regression to determine if having used chiropractic care predicted vaccination. Results We found major methodological differences between the prior studies. In our analyses, we found that chiropractic users were significantly less likely than nonusers to have received the pneumococcal vaccine, and we found no significant difference between chiropractic users and nonusers relative to having received the seasonal flu vaccine. Conclusions Methodological differences in previous studies that investigated the association between chiropractic care and adult vaccination likely explain divergent findings reported in the literature. Future studies should consider these differences.

Associations between complementary medicine utilization and influenza/pneumococcal vaccination: Results of a national cross-sectional survey of 9151 Australian women

“…how 'high-priority' conditions for vaccination were built into the multiple regression model 19 . Additional re-analysis of this dataset also determined that for high-priority patients there were no significant differences in vaccination uptake between those patients who used chiropractic and those who did not use chiropractic 14 .…”

Chiropractic Care and Public Health: Answering Difficult Questions About Safety, Care Through the Lifespan, and Community Action

“…72,73 This might account for why chiropractic users currently appear no less likely to be vaccinated for influenza than nonchiropractic users. 74,75 The chiropractic profession, as a contributor to the health of the public through its members, could positively influence immunization by providing sound advice to their patients consistent with current evidence and the recommendations and policies of public health authorities. Participation in the larger picture of public health will require DCs to have a thorough familiarity with vaccination guidelines and schedules as well as an understanding of the issues surrounding specific vaccines and the diseases that they are designed to prevent.…”

The Relationship Between the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the Use of Biomedical Services

“…There are reports of female users of naturopathy who are less likely than nonusers to get Chlamydia screening and mammography 16 and chiropractic users who are less likely than nonusers to receive vaccines. 17,18 Asthma patients who take herbal supplements delay biomedical treatments. 19 Studies suggest that this substitutive relationship can be related to CAM practitioners’ resistance to vaccination 20 or users’ resistance that is embedded in the holistic nature of CAM culture.…”