Shingrix vaccination linked to a 24% drop in dementia among seniors
A study of over half-million seniors found that receiving the Shingrix shingles vaccine was associated with a 24% lower chance of being diagnosed with dementia over four years.
In a target-trial emulation using Medicare data, investigators compared more than 500,000 seniors admitted to skilled-nursing homes, contrasting those who received the recombinant shingles vaccine Shingrix with those who did not. After four years of follow-up, dementia was diagnosed in 18.8% of the vaccinated group compared with 24.6% of the unvaccinated, indicating a 24% risk reduction and an estimated prevention of one case per 17 vaccinations.
The study, led by Kaley Hayes of Brown University's School of Public Health and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, also referenced earlier work on older shingles vaccines that showed similar trends. Researchers noted that vaccinated individuals tended to be slightly younger and healthier, which could partly explain the association, and called for randomized trials to establish causality. Funding was provided by GlaxoSmithKline, though the company had no influence over study design or publication. The findings suggest that an already widely used preventive measure might also confer cognitive benefits.
Why it matters
If confirmed, a common vaccine could become a simple strategy to lower dementia risk in an aging population.
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