Abstract

AIM: To systematically review the literature for studies investigating the potential effect of gender of dialysis patients on the immunogenicity of hepatitis B virus vaccines. METHODS: Literature searches were conducted by the MEDLINE and Google Scholar. The key words used included "hepatitis B (HB)", "vaccine", "dialysis", "hemodialysis", "sex", "male" and "female". Data of seroresponse to HB vaccine in clinical trials regarding sex of the recipients have been achieved and analyzed. Finally data from 19 clinical trials have been pooled and analyzed. RESULTS: Analysis of response to HB vaccination in our dialysis population showed males significantly respond less to hepatitis B vaccination (P = 0.002, Z = 3.08) with no significant heterogeneity detected P = 0.766; heterogeneity chi(2) = 14.30 (df = 19); I (2) = 0%. A reanalysis of the pooled data was conducted regarding the dialysis mode to evaluate potential differential impact of sex on HB vaccine response. Hemodialysis was the only subgroup that showed a significant difference regarding dialysis mode in response to HB vaccination regarding sex (P = 0.042, Z = 2.03). CONCLUSION: This Meta-analysis showed significant effect for the sex of chronic kidney disease and dialysis patients on the immunogenicity of HB vaccine. This sex discrimination was most prominent among hemodialysis patients.