Association between metabolic syndrome and humoral immune response to Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine in healthcare workers

Abstract

AbstractPurposeThe clustering of metabolic abnormalities may weaken vaccine-induced immunity, but epidemiological data regarding SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are scarce. The present study examined the cross-sectional association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and humoral immune response to Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine among healthcare workers.MethodsParticipants were 946 healthcare workers, aged 21–75 years, who had completed the second dose of Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine 1–3 months before the survey. MetS was defined according to the Joint Interim Statement. SARS-CoV-2 spike immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody was measured using quantitative assays. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate the geometric mean titers (GMT) and geometric mean ratio (GMR) of IgG titers, relative to MetS status.ResultsA total of 51 participants (5.4%) had MetS. Healthcare workers with MetS had a significantly lower IgG titer (GMT 3882; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3124–4824) than those without MetS (GMT 5033; 95% CI, 4395–5764); the GMR was 0.77 (95% CI 0.64–0.93). The GMR for IgG titers among those having 0 (reference group), 1, 2, 3, or ≥ 4 MetS components was 1.00, 1.00, 0.89, 0.86 and 0.61, respectively (Ptrend = 0.004).ConclusionResults suggest that having MetS and a greater number of its components are associated with a weaker humoral immune response to the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine.