Functional disability and antibody response to influenza vaccine in elderly patients in a Dutch nursing home: Table 1

Serological studies have yielded conflicting results about the antibody response to influenza vaccines in elderly people1—hence the association of advanced age with declined protection is in question. Differences in subjects' state of health may be one reason for the divergent findings.1 2 We therefore investigated the influence of chronic disease, drug treatment, and functional disability on the immune response to influenza vaccine in elderly people. Influenza vaccine was offered to all of the patients in one nursing home in Delft, the Netherlands, who were not terminally ill. A total of 175 patients gave their informed consent and were included in the study. Their mean age was 82 (SD 7), and 133 patients were women. The study was approved by the …