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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Apr 16.
Published in final edited form as: Lancet Infect Dis. 2010 May;10(5):338–349. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(10)70049-9

Table 1:

Sex differences in the response to both childhood and adult virus vaccines

Dependent measure Vaccine1 Sex difference Age of study population2 References
Rate of vaccination TIV and LAIV F > M Adults (16)
M > F Adults (17)
F = M All ages (18)
MMR F = M Infants/toddlers (27)
Rate of seroconversion HAV/HBV F = M Adults (39)
F = M Elderly adults (53)
Humoral/antibody response TIV F > M Adults (19, 20, 138)
F > M Elderly adults (21, 139, 140)
17DV F > M Adults (11)
BERNA-YF, RKI-YF, ARILVAX, YF-VAX M > F Adults (12, 13)
AP-YF, 17DD F = M Adults (13, 14)
RA27/3 M > F After puberty (32)
Schwarz F > M Adults (141)
MMR F = M Before puberty (31)
F = M After puberty (142)
F > M After puberty (29, 137)
HPV4 M > F Before and during puberty (143)
HAV F > M Adults (3943)
HBV F > M Infants-puberty (44, 45)
HBV F > M Adults (4648, 51)
HAV/HBV F > M Adults (49, 50)
HSV-2 gD F > M Adults (55, 144)
HDCV, PCECV F > M Adults (145, 146)
Dryvax F > M Adults (147)
attenuated Dengue virus F > M Adults (148)
attenuated VEE virus M > F Adults (149)
Cell-mediated immunity MMR F = M After puberty (137, 142)
RA27/3 M > F After puberty (32)
HSV-2 gD F > M Adults (57)
Adverse reaction TIV F > M Adults (20, 22, 23)
Elderly adults (21, 24, 150)
17D F > M Adults (8)
MMR F > M Infants/toddlers (34)
M > F Infants/toddlers (35)
F > M Before puberty (33)
attenuated JE virus F > M Adults (151)
Mortality Edmonston-Zagreb F > M Infants/toddlers (36)
1

TIV and LAIV protect against influenza virus infection; MMR protects against measles, mumps, and rubella; 17-DV, 17-DD, BERNA-YF, RKI-YF, AP-YF, ARILVAX, and YF-VAX protect against yellow fever virus; RA27/3 protects against rubella; HDCV and PCECV protect against rabies virus; Schwartz and Edmonston-Zagreb protect against measles; HPV4 protects against human papillomavirus types 6, 11, 16, and 18; HSV-2 gD protects against herpes virus type 2; Dryvax protects against smallpox; VEE= Venezuelan equine encephalitis; JE = Japanese encephalitis.

2

Infants/toddlers = 6–59 months of age; children before puberty = 5–10 years of age; children after puberty = 10–17 years of age; adults = ≥ 18 years of age; elderly = ≥ 65 years of age