COVID-19 severity and risk of SARS-CoV-2-associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination: a longitudinal analysis of data from the COVIDENCE UK study

Background COVID-19 booster vaccinations are offered annually to priority groups, but many people have not been vaccinated in over a year. We therefore assessed the association between time since booster vaccination and breakthrough infection characteristics. We also explored whether incident COVID-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Seif O Shaheen, Adrian R Martineau, Paul E Pfeffer, Mohammad Talaei, Giulia Vivaldi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2025-05-01
Series:BMJ Open Respiratory Research
Online Access:https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/12/1/e003158.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849321724886122496
author Seif O Shaheen
Adrian R Martineau
Paul E Pfeffer
Mohammad Talaei
Giulia Vivaldi
author_facet Seif O Shaheen
Adrian R Martineau
Paul E Pfeffer
Mohammad Talaei
Giulia Vivaldi
author_sort Seif O Shaheen
collection DOAJ
description Background COVID-19 booster vaccinations are offered annually to priority groups, but many people have not been vaccinated in over a year. We therefore assessed the association between time since booster vaccination and breakthrough infection characteristics. We also explored whether incident COVID-19 associates with asthma exacerbations in boosted individuals with asthma and if the risk of COVID-19-associated exacerbation is affected by time since vaccination.Methods COVIDENCE UK is a prospective, longitudinal, population-based study of COVID-19. We included adult participants who had received ≥1 booster vaccination. Time since vaccination was binarised at 6 or 12 months according to vaccine eligibility subgroup. We used regression models to obtain adjusted estimates for the association between time since vaccination and breakthrough infection severity (requiring bedrest vs milder symptoms), symptom duration, and impact on health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-3L Index). We then assessed the association of incident COVID-19 with asthma exacerbations using multilevel mixed models, by time since vaccination.Results 7391 boosted participants reported at least one breakthrough infection. Across all eligibility subgroups, greater time since vaccination associated with increased odds of severe symptoms (ORs ranging from 1.31 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.62) to 1.61 (1.29 to 2.01)). Not receiving a booster vaccination in the previous 12 months was associated with longer time to recovery overall (HR for recovery 0.90, 95% CI 0.81 to 0.99), but evidence for vaccination subgroups was weak. Greater time since vaccination was associated with a small decrease in EQ-5D-3L Index overall (−0.02, 95% CI −0.03 to −0.00) and among participants younger than 75 years, but did not reach our estimates for a minimum clinically important difference. Among 2100 participants with asthma, incident COVID-‍19 associated with increased risk of asthma exacerbation, both within 12 months of vaccination (OR 5.11 (95% CI 4.19 to 6.24)) and later (5.60 (2.98 to 10.53)), with a greater difference in point estimates when considering severe exacerbations (6.59 (4.70 to 9.22) vs 9.20 (3.56 to 23.78)).Conclusion Longer time since booster vaccination consistently associates with more severe infections and may increase the risk of severe asthma exacerbations in people with asthma. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring those currently eligible receive their boosters, and the need for research on further vaccinations in people with asthma no longer eligible for boosters.
format Article
id doaj-art-7e0aefd77cb84a449c944143b87264d6
institution Kabale University
issn 2052-4439
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Open Respiratory Research
spelling doaj-art-7e0aefd77cb84a449c944143b87264d62025-08-20T03:49:41ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Respiratory Research2052-44392025-05-0112110.1136/bmjresp-2025-003158COVID-19 severity and risk of SARS-CoV-2-associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination: a longitudinal analysis of data from the COVIDENCE UK studySeif O Shaheen0Adrian R Martineau1Paul E Pfeffer2Mohammad Talaei3Giulia Vivaldi4Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UKBlizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UKDepartment of Respiratory Medicine, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UKWolfson Institute of Population Health, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UKBlizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UKBackground COVID-19 booster vaccinations are offered annually to priority groups, but many people have not been vaccinated in over a year. We therefore assessed the association between time since booster vaccination and breakthrough infection characteristics. We also explored whether incident COVID-19 associates with asthma exacerbations in boosted individuals with asthma and if the risk of COVID-19-associated exacerbation is affected by time since vaccination.Methods COVIDENCE UK is a prospective, longitudinal, population-based study of COVID-19. We included adult participants who had received ≥1 booster vaccination. Time since vaccination was binarised at 6 or 12 months according to vaccine eligibility subgroup. We used regression models to obtain adjusted estimates for the association between time since vaccination and breakthrough infection severity (requiring bedrest vs milder symptoms), symptom duration, and impact on health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-3L Index). We then assessed the association of incident COVID-19 with asthma exacerbations using multilevel mixed models, by time since vaccination.Results 7391 boosted participants reported at least one breakthrough infection. Across all eligibility subgroups, greater time since vaccination associated with increased odds of severe symptoms (ORs ranging from 1.31 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.62) to 1.61 (1.29 to 2.01)). Not receiving a booster vaccination in the previous 12 months was associated with longer time to recovery overall (HR for recovery 0.90, 95% CI 0.81 to 0.99), but evidence for vaccination subgroups was weak. Greater time since vaccination was associated with a small decrease in EQ-5D-3L Index overall (−0.02, 95% CI −0.03 to −0.00) and among participants younger than 75 years, but did not reach our estimates for a minimum clinically important difference. Among 2100 participants with asthma, incident COVID-‍19 associated with increased risk of asthma exacerbation, both within 12 months of vaccination (OR 5.11 (95% CI 4.19 to 6.24)) and later (5.60 (2.98 to 10.53)), with a greater difference in point estimates when considering severe exacerbations (6.59 (4.70 to 9.22) vs 9.20 (3.56 to 23.78)).Conclusion Longer time since booster vaccination consistently associates with more severe infections and may increase the risk of severe asthma exacerbations in people with asthma. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring those currently eligible receive their boosters, and the need for research on further vaccinations in people with asthma no longer eligible for boosters.https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/12/1/e003158.full
spellingShingle Seif O Shaheen
Adrian R Martineau
Paul E Pfeffer
Mohammad Talaei
Giulia Vivaldi
COVID-19 severity and risk of SARS-CoV-2-associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination: a longitudinal analysis of data from the COVIDENCE UK study
BMJ Open Respiratory Research
title COVID-19 severity and risk of SARS-CoV-2-associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination: a longitudinal analysis of data from the COVIDENCE UK study
title_full COVID-19 severity and risk of SARS-CoV-2-associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination: a longitudinal analysis of data from the COVIDENCE UK study
title_fullStr COVID-19 severity and risk of SARS-CoV-2-associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination: a longitudinal analysis of data from the COVIDENCE UK study
title_full_unstemmed COVID-19 severity and risk of SARS-CoV-2-associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination: a longitudinal analysis of data from the COVIDENCE UK study
title_short COVID-19 severity and risk of SARS-CoV-2-associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination: a longitudinal analysis of data from the COVIDENCE UK study
title_sort covid 19 severity and risk of sars cov 2 associated asthma exacerbation by time since booster vaccination a longitudinal analysis of data from the covidence uk study
url https://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/12/1/e003158.full
work_keys_str_mv AT seifoshaheen covid19severityandriskofsarscov2associatedasthmaexacerbationbytimesinceboostervaccinationalongitudinalanalysisofdatafromthecovidenceukstudy
AT adrianrmartineau covid19severityandriskofsarscov2associatedasthmaexacerbationbytimesinceboostervaccinationalongitudinalanalysisofdatafromthecovidenceukstudy
AT paulepfeffer covid19severityandriskofsarscov2associatedasthmaexacerbationbytimesinceboostervaccinationalongitudinalanalysisofdatafromthecovidenceukstudy
AT mohammadtalaei covid19severityandriskofsarscov2associatedasthmaexacerbationbytimesinceboostervaccinationalongitudinalanalysisofdatafromthecovidenceukstudy
AT giuliavivaldi covid19severityandriskofsarscov2associatedasthmaexacerbationbytimesinceboostervaccinationalongitudinalanalysisofdatafromthecovidenceukstudy