Short summary

Studies show that vaccines have non-specific effects, i.e. public health relevant effects on diseases the vaccines were not designed to prevent. The smallpox vaccine has been associated with better survival in Guinea-Bissau, and we showed that smallpox and BCG vaccinations are associated with lower mortality in early adult life in Denmark taking advantage of the phase out period of the two vaccines.

In the present study we aim to study the long-term impact on overall health of live (such as the BCG and smallpox vaccines) and non-live vaccines (such as the diphtheria vaccine) in the Glasgow University Student Cohort.

Rationale

Studies show that vaccines have non-specific effects, i.e. public health relevant effects on diseases the vaccines were not designed to prevent. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently reviewed the evidence of non-specific effects on child mortality and suggested that the measles and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccines were associated with greater reductions in child mortality than would be expected from the disease-specific reduction in mortality. Vaccine-induced trained innate immunity has been suggested as a potential mechanism. In a recent proof-of-principle experiment, adults receiving BCG vs. saline four weeks before  challenge with yellow fever vaccine had less yellow fever viraemia, due to BCG-induced epigenetic modifications of the innate immune system leading to particularly increased IL-1 beta response. In an experiment among adults >50 years old in Guinea-Bissau, BCG revaccination was associated with increased non-specific cytokine responses to non-related stimuli in vitro (manuscript).   
Long-term non-specific effects of vaccines are less studied. However, the smallpox vaccine has been associated with better survival in Guinea-Bissau, and we showed that smallpox and BCG vaccinations are associated with lower mortality in early adult life in Denmark taking advantage of the phase out period of the two vaccines.
In the present study we aim to study the long-term impact on overall health of live vaccines ( such as the BCG and smallpox vaccines) and non-live vaccines (such as the diphtheria vaccine) in the Glasgow University Student Cohort.

Description of the cohort

The cohort covers ~20000 university students (~1/4 women), corresponding to approximately half of the students enrolled at GU between 1948 to 1968. The surveyed students were representative of the entire student population. Students completed a questionnaire and underwent a physical examination (~ 1 h duration in total). Enrolment age was between 18 and 28 years old, the cohort would now be approximately between 70 and 100 years old.

Data and biological material

Information about medical history, vaccine history, social background and population characteristics. 

Collaborating researchers and departments

PI: Christine Stabell Benn (University of Southern Denmark)

Nils Skajaa (Aarhus University)

Andreas Rieckmann (University of Copenhagen)

David Carslake (University of Bristol)

George Davey Smith (University of Bristol)