| Autor: |
Anticoli S; Reference Center for Gender-specific Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità [Italian National Institute of Health], Rome, Italy., Dorrucci M; Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità [Italian National Institute of Health], Rome, Italy., Iessi E; Reference Center for Gender-specific Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità [Italian National Institute of Health], Rome, Italy., Chiarotti F; Reference Center for the Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, [Italian National Institute of Health], Rome, Italy., Di Prinzio RR; Occupational Medicine Unit, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy., Vinci MR; Occupational Medicine Unit, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy., Zaffina S; Occupational Medicine Unit, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy., Puro V; UOC Emerging Infections and CRAIDS, National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani IRCSS, Rome, Italy., Colavita F; UOC Lab of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani IRCSS, Rome, Italy., Mizzoni K; UOC Lab of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani IRCSS, Rome, Italy., Meschi S; UOC Lab of Virology, National Institute for Infectious Diseases L. Spallanzani IRCSS, Rome, Italy., Vonesch N; Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, Rome, Italy., Albano C; B cell Lab, Immunology Research Area, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy., Ortona E; Reference Center for Gender-specific Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità [Italian National Institute of Health], Rome, Italy., Ruggieri A; Reference Center for Gender-specific Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità [Italian National Institute of Health], Rome, Italy., Tomao P; Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL), Monte Porzio Catone, Rome, Italy. |
| Abstrakt: |
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are the target population for vaccination against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as they are at a high risk of exposure and transmission of pathogens to patients. Neutralizing antibodies developed after COVID-19 vaccination decline within few months of vaccination. Several factors, including age and sex, can affect the intensity, efficacy, and duration of immune response to vaccines. However, sex-specific analyses of humoral responses to COVID-19 vaccines are lacking. This study aimed to evaluate sex-based differences in anti-S/RBD (Receptor Binding Domain) responses at three different time points after the second dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in HCWs in relation to age, and to investigate the role of sex hormones as potential markers of response. Anti-S/RBD levels after two doses of the mRNA vaccine were collected from 521 HCWs naïve to COVID-19, working at two Italian Clinical Centers. Multiple regression analysis was applied to evaluate the association between anti-S levels and sex, age, and plasma levels of sex hormones. Significantly higher anti-S/RBD response to the COVID-19 vaccination was found in female HCWs, and a significant and more abrupt decline in response with time was observed in women than that in men. A novel, positive association of testosterone plasma levels and higher anti-S levels in male HCWs was found, suggesting its potential role as sex specific marker in males. In conclusion, understanding the sex-based differences in humoral immune responses to vaccines may potentially improve vaccination strategies and optimize surveillance programs for HCWs. |
