Social Inequality in the Uptake of Varicella Vaccination: A Danish Nationwide Observational Study
Author(s)
Anne Cathrine Falch-Jørgensen, PhD1, Rikke F. Hansen, MSc1, Mette Boie Steffensen, MA2, Lasse Boding, PhD2.
1Real World Evidence, Signum Life Science, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2MSD Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.
1Real World Evidence, Signum Life Science, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2MSD Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.
OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the relation between sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors and the uptake of varicella vaccination in Denmark from 2019 to 2024.
METHODS: This nationwide epidemiological study was based on 1,356,841 individuals aged 1 to 18 years. Data on sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors for children and their parents were obtained from Statistics Denmark’s registers and linked to varicella vaccination status in the Danish Vaccination Register. We estimated yearly incidence and prevalence of vaccine uptake. Associations between the included predictive factors and vaccine uptake were estimated by crude and adjusted multivariable logistic regression models.
RESULTS: Varicella vaccination coverage increased ten-fold from 2019 to 2024. There is a tendency towards an upwards age-shift in initiation of vaccination within the age-group 1-10 years through the study period. Varicella vaccination was most common among children living in capital region of Denmark and in the metropolitan municipalities. The likelihood of vaccination was markedly increased among children of parents with high education (aOR: 4.90, 95% CI: 3.99-6.00), high income (aOR: 3.08, 95% CI: 2.85-3.33), and education within medicine or nursing specifically (aOR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.72-1.88). These tendencies persisted over time, when the analysis was stratified by year of initiated vaccination, with a solitary increase in social inequality in 2022.
CONCLUSIONS: Varicella vaccination uptake is greater among children of families with high socioeconomic status and those living in capital/metropolitan areas. This pattern persists over a 6-years period.
METHODS: This nationwide epidemiological study was based on 1,356,841 individuals aged 1 to 18 years. Data on sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors for children and their parents were obtained from Statistics Denmark’s registers and linked to varicella vaccination status in the Danish Vaccination Register. We estimated yearly incidence and prevalence of vaccine uptake. Associations between the included predictive factors and vaccine uptake were estimated by crude and adjusted multivariable logistic regression models.
RESULTS: Varicella vaccination coverage increased ten-fold from 2019 to 2024. There is a tendency towards an upwards age-shift in initiation of vaccination within the age-group 1-10 years through the study period. Varicella vaccination was most common among children living in capital region of Denmark and in the metropolitan municipalities. The likelihood of vaccination was markedly increased among children of parents with high education (aOR: 4.90, 95% CI: 3.99-6.00), high income (aOR: 3.08, 95% CI: 2.85-3.33), and education within medicine or nursing specifically (aOR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.72-1.88). These tendencies persisted over time, when the analysis was stratified by year of initiated vaccination, with a solitary increase in social inequality in 2022.
CONCLUSIONS: Varicella vaccination uptake is greater among children of families with high socioeconomic status and those living in capital/metropolitan areas. This pattern persists over a 6-years period.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-11, ISPOR Europe 2025, Glasgow, Scotland
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S2
Code
EPH216
Topic
Epidemiology & Public Health
Topic Subcategory
Public Health
Disease
Pediatrics, Vaccines