Receiving the shingles vaccination may significantly reduce the risk of developing dementia, according to a large-scale study published April 2 in Nature Medicine.
Researchers analyzed electronic records from more than 282,000 adults in Wales in the U.K. using a natural experiment created by an age-eligibility rule for the herpes zoster vaccine.
The study focused on individuals born just before or after Sept. 2, 1933, the cutoff date for eligibility when the vaccine was introduced in 2013. Those born after just after the date were 47 times more likely to receive the vaccine compared to those born just before.
Over a seven-year period, individuals who received the zoster vaccine were found to have a 3.5 percent lower risk of receiving a new dementia diagnosis, or the equivalent of a 20% relative reduction.
Researchers also found similar findings in a broader population using national death records in which vaccinated individuals were less likely to have dementia listed as a primary cause of death.
