Global burden of vaccine-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome over 170 countries from 1967 to 2023

Yi Deun Jeong; Seoyoung Park; Sooji Lee; Woojin Jang; Jaeyu Park; Kyeongmin Lee; Jinseok Lee; Jiseung Kang; Raphael Udeh; Masoud Rahmati; Seung Geun Yeo; Lee Smith; Hayeon Lee; Dong Keon Yon

doi:10.1038/s41598-024-74729-2

Global burden of vaccine-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome over 170 countries from 1967 to 2023

Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 19;14(1):24561. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-74729-2.

Authors

Yi Deun Jeong^#^{1

2}, Seoyoung Park³, Sooji Lee^#^{1

2}, Woojin Jang¹, Jaeyu Park^{2

4}, Kyeongmin Lee^{2

4}, Jinseok Lee⁵, Jiseung Kang^{6

7}, Raphael Udeh⁸, Masoud Rahmati^{9

10

11}, Seung Geun Yeo¹², Lee Smith¹³, Hayeon Lee^{2

5}, Dong Keon Yon^{14

15

16

17}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
² Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, 23 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea.
³ Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, 23 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea. [email protected].
⁴ Department of Regulatory Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, South Korea.
⁶ Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁸ School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia.
⁹ Health Service Research and Quality of Life Center (CEReSS), Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
¹⁰ Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran.
¹¹ Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Vali-E-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran.
¹² Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
¹³ Centre for Health, Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, East Rd, Cambridge, CB1 1PT, UK. [email protected].
¹⁴ Department of Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. [email protected].
¹⁵ Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, 23 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 02447, Republic of Korea. [email protected].
¹⁶ Department of Regulatory Science, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, South Korea. [email protected].
¹⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 39427003
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-74729-2

Abstract

Research on Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) as a neurological adverse effect of vaccines on a global scale is scarce, highlighting the need for further investigation to evaluate its long-term impact and associated risk factors comprehensively. Hence, this study aims to assess the global burden of vaccine-associated GBS and its associated vaccines. This study utilized data from VigiBase, the World Health Organization global database of adverse event reports of medicines and vaccines, encompassing the period from 1967 to 2023 (total reports, n = 131,255,418) to investigate vaccine-associated GBS. Reported odds ratios (ROR) and information components (IC) were analyzed to assess the association between 19 vaccines and the occurrence of vaccine-associated GBS over 170 countries. We identified 15,377 (8072 males [52.49%]) reports of vaccine-associated GBS among 22,616 reports of all drugs-cause GBS from 1978 to 2023. Cumulative reports of vaccine-associated GBS have been increasing steadily over time, with a notable surge observed since the commencement of COVID-19 vaccines administration in 2020. Most vaccines showed significant associations with GBS such as Ad5-vectored COVID-19 vaccines (ROR, 14.88; IC, 3.66), COVID-19 mRNA vaccines (ROR, 9.66; IC, 2.84), and inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccines (ROR, 3,29; IC 1.69). Influenza vaccines showed the highest association (ROR, 77.91; IC 5.98). Regarding age-and sex-specific risks, the association remained similar regardless of sex, with an increased association observed with advancing age. The mean time to onset was 5.5 days. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the reports of GBS surged in response to widespread COVID-19 vaccination. Nonetheless, COVID-19 vaccines exhibited the lowest association compared to other vaccines. Vigilance for at least one-week post-vaccination is crucial, particularly for older adults. Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms linking vaccines and GBS.

Keywords: Global; Guillain-Barré syndrome; Vaccine; Vaccine-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome; World Health Organization.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
COVID-19 Vaccines / administration & dosage
COVID-19 Vaccines / adverse effects
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Child
Databases, Factual
Female
Global Health
Guillain-Barre Syndrome* / chemically induced
Guillain-Barre Syndrome* / epidemiology
Guillain-Barre Syndrome* / etiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Risk Factors
SARS-CoV-2 / immunology
Vaccination / adverse effects
Vaccines / adverse effects
Young Adult

Substances

COVID-19 Vaccines
Vaccines

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding