Pneumococcal, Flu Vaccination Rates Low in Patients With Psychiatric Disorders
Patients with psychosis, depression, and anxiety exhibit higher rates of vaccine hesitancy.
Low vaccination rates and high vaccine hesitancy have been found in patients with psychiatric disorders, particularly those with psychosis, according to results published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. Specifically, of the 14% of patients eligible for the pneumococcal vaccine, only 2% received the vaccine.1
Patients with psychosis, depression, and anxiety exhibit higher rates of vaccine hesitancy. | Image Credit: Aron M - Austria - stock.adobe.com
In a 2021 study, investigators reported that individuals with severe mental health disorders had an increased risk of death associated with influenza or pneumonia and sepsis. Further, they had an increased risk of hospitalization associated with influenza or pneumonia. In a 2013 study, investigators found that the risk of pneumococcal disease is significantly higher for patients with psychiatric disorders. Further, the risk of pneumococcal disease for patients that were hospitalized with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety was approximately 2.3, 2.3, 2.1, and 2.2, respectively.2,3
Investigators of the 2013 study3 stated that “severe mental illness is a risk factor for lobar pneumonia, pneumococcal pneumonia, pneumococcal septicemia, and meningitis. Possible explanations for the elevated risk include factors relating to lifestyle and health-risk activities.”
In the current study, investigators aimed to determine the vaccination rates for influenza, pneumococcal, and COVID-19 of patients with psychiatric disorders as well as vaccine hesitancy. There were 500 patients included in the study, with 62.2% being female and 61.2% having a high school education or higher. Approximately 45.4% had anxiety, 26% had depression, 8.8% had psychosis, 8.4% had obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 7.4% had bipolar disorder, and 4% had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Patients’ ages ranged between 25 to 36 years, with a mean of 35.5 years.1
The rate of being in the risk group for pneumococcal vaccination was between 7.1% and 16.7% for each psychiatric disorder, except for ADHD with 0%. The pneumococcal rates were 4% for those with anxiety disorder and 2.3% for patients with psychosis. No other patients were vaccinated against pneumococcal disease.1
Only 18 patients included in the study said they received an influenza vaccine during the study year from March 1, 2024, to November 24, 2024, and only 15 patients had a regular influenza vaccine every year. However, 381 patients received a COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic, but only 9 received the COVID-19 vaccine during the study year.
When investigators broke down the vaccination rates, they found approximately 10% of patients with ADHD, 4.8% with anxiety disorders, and 4.5% with psychosis had received the influenza vaccine. Approximately 1.5% of patients with depression and 2.7% with bipolar disorder received an influenza vaccine, while patients with OCD did not receive an influenza vaccine during the study period.1
As for vaccine hesitancy, 91.2% moderately or strongly agreed that vaccines are important for health, 91% stated vaccines are effective, and 93.6% stated that vaccination is important for the health of the community. Patients with psychosis, followed by depression and anxiety, had higher vaccine hesitancy compared with patients with ADHD and bipolar disorder.1
“The higher vaccine hesitancy in patients with psychosis, depression, and anxiety disorder may be due to the effect of these disorders on the cognitive function, risk perception, and decision-making processes of these individuals,” the study authors stated. “Paranoid ideation or lack of trust in psychotic disorders, low energy levels in depressed individuals, and fears and concerns arising from misinformation about the vaccine in individuals with anxiety disorders may play a role in increased hesitancy.”
READ MORE: Pneumococcal Resource Center
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