The association between mental health diagnoses and influenza vaccine receipt among older primary care patients

Evidence suggests mental health diagnoses are associated with an increased likelihood of not having an influenza vaccine. However, little is known about this association in older adult primary care patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between flu vaccine receipt in patients 65 to 80 years old and any mental health diagnoses, defined as depression and/or anxiety in a primary care setting. This study used a cross-sectional analysis of a retrospective cohort data from 4,102 patients who had a primary care appointment between July 2008 and June 2016. Adjusted analyses supported that any mental health diagnoses were associated with greater odds of vaccination in the total sample (aOR = 1.47) and in a subset with physical comorbidities (aOR = 1.77). No evidence for a relationship between mental health diagnosis and vaccination was found in the subset without physical comorbidities. It is increasingly important for healthcare to acknowledge the risks associated with lack of influenza vaccination receipt in the older adult population in order to address barriers to flu vaccination.